Nov. 18, 2009

Final Stats

FLORENCE, S.C. - Fayetteville State's 91-61 season-opening loss at Francis Marion wasn't exactly the start first-year head coach Eva Patterson-Heath envisioned.

The Broncos (0-1) committed 51 turnovers and shot 38.5 percent from the field.

"That's unbelievable," Patterson-Heath said. "This game was eye-opening. I told our players that this was a barometer game to see where we are at. I learned a lot about my team."

Tressa Aughburns, Tiffany Haywood and L'oreal Price each scored a team-high 11 points. Sophomore center Deja Middleton added five points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

"We learned what our weaknesses are," said Aughburns. "I think we're going to have to work on them and focus on them in practice. We're only going to better from this, I think we can learn from it."

The Patriots (2-0) claimed their second consecutive PBC Championship last season and reached the final of the NCAA Southeast Regional. The nation's top-scoring team for the past two seasons, FMU brought back five letterwinners and four starters from 2008-09's 27-5 squad.

In their first two games, the Patriots have forced 106 turnovers. The 51 turnovers committed by FSU, were the most since the Broncos had 38 in an 81-72 loss to Virginia State on Nov. 18, 2008.

"They are a really good team," said Patterson-Heath. "It was a tough for us coming down here. It's always hard to win on someone else's court. I wanted to compete for two halves, but we only competed for one."

After FSU point guard Danielle Russell connected on a pair of free throws with 16:35 left in the second half, the game was tied 47-47. FMU closed the game on a 44-14 run and scored 29 points off turnovers.

During the Patriots run, Russell, who scored eight points and dished out seven assists, was injured on a drive to the basket. She didn't return.

"I think when she went down and wasn't able to come back, then we were totally out of sorts," Patterson-Heath said. "We struggled getting the ball in anyway, but when she went out that knocked the wind out of us."

FMU had 11 players who played five or minutes and eight players who scored eight points or more. The Patriots were only 35-of-93 from the field, but took 41 more shots than the Broncos.

"Fayetteville State is a very good basketball team," FMU head coach Heather Macy said. "We're just so deep and we just keep coming in folds. The fatigue sometimes starts wearing in and it can cause some turnovers."

Aughburns, who played on last season's 19-9 squad, said her team isn't going to hit the panic button.

"We're not holding our heads down," she said. "It's the first game of the season and we're still positive about our group."

FSU opens up CIAA play and its home slate of games on Saturday, when the Broncos host Lincoln (Pa). Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.