Young, Patriots hand MOC women first defeat

Published in Sports on November 19, 2006 2:02 AM

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FMU Sports Information

FLORENCE, S.C. -- Junior guard Brittany Young scored a career-high 25 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed six rebounds to lead Francis Marion University to an 82-69 win over Mount Olive College at the second annual Zaxby's Tip-Off Classic on Saturday afternoon.

Following Young's lead, sophomore forward Katherine Kiefer also dropped in a career-high 19 points. Kirby Marsh and Renee Guilliams each finished in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Patriots improved to 1-1.

Forwards Helen Moore and Jill Oaks paced Mount Olive (1-1) with 15 points apiece. Oaks also hauled down a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Meaghan Vanderhorst added 14 points before leaving the game with an injury late in the second half.

A basket by Young gave Francis Marion a 28-17 lead with 7:23 left in the opening half. A three-pointer by Marsh later helped the Patriots maintain a double-digit lead, 35-25, with just over four minutes left before intermission.

Mount Olive closed the half with a 13-6 run and trailed 41-38 at the break.

The Trojans continued with the hot hand in the second stanza and used a 12-4 run to take a 50-45 lead. Tomeka Prichard's 3-pointer capped the run. Prichard has hit a 3-pointer in 19 consecutive games.

FMU rallied to take the lead for good at 53-52 on a jumper by Marsh with 10:23 remaining. The Trojans trailed by only four points, 61-57, following a three-pointer by Oaks with 5:54 left.

Young then hit one of two free throws, and both Kiefer and Young scored on fast-break opportunities to put FMU up 66-57. Seventeen of Young's career-high total came in the second half.

The Patriots, who made only 6 of 19 free throws in its season-opening loss at Division I Furman, connected on 24 of 36 attempts against the Trojans. FMU also converted 32 Mount Olive turnovers into 32 points and owned a decisive 24-4 advantage on fast-break points.

MOUNT OLIVE (1-1)

Jill Oaks 5 3-5 15, Helen Moore 7 1-2 15, Meaghan Vanderhorst 5 0-0 14, Alisa Jones 3 2-6 8, Sierra Medeiros 2 0-0 4, Tomeka Prichard 1 1-2 4, Latara Wade 1 0-0 3, Keshaun Mozee 1 0-0 2, Tilah Worthy 1 0-0 2, Keona Corley 1 0-0 2, Britteny Robich 0 0-0 0, Samone Bland 0 0-0 0. TOTALS -- 27 7-15 69.

FRANCIS MARION (1-1)

Brittany Young 9 7-8 25, Katherine Keifer 6 7-10 19, Kirby Marsh 3 6-8 14, Renee Guilliams 4 3-5 11, Vanessa Goff 1 0-0 2, Yasmean Dixon 0 0-1 0, Sienna Gandy-Miller 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Quinlan 0 0-0 0. TOTALS -- 28 24-36 82.

Halftime -- FMU 41-38. 3-point goals -- Mount Olive 8-16, FMU 2-8. Fouled out -- Corley, Mozee. Rebounds -- Mount Olive 37 (Oaks 9), FMU 38 (Keifer, Young 6). Assists -- Mount Olive 24 (Mozee 7), FMU 17 (Young 8). A -- 185.