Winthrop women's basketball loses to Francis Marion in exhibition

From staff reports

The Winthrop women's basketball team struggled mightily on Saturday, losing to Division II Francis Marion 65-56 in an exhibition game at Winthrop Coliseum.

The Lady Eagles turned the ball over 33 times on the night, spoiling a solid defensive performance that saw the Patriots shoot just 25 percent from the field.

Francis Marion capitalized on a huge advantage at the free throw line, where the Patriots made 28 of 43 shots, as opposed to 18 of 28 for the Lady Eagles.

Shanice Cole led the way for Winthrop with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Eboni Fields scored 13 points to lead three players in double figures for Francis Marion. Shannon Singleton-Bates added 11, while Courtney Mealing chipped in with 10.

Winthrop's only lead in the second half came when Shelly Hankins hit a 3-pointer with 13:36 remaining to make it 42-41.

Chanel White had nine points and six rebounds for the Lady Eagles, who posted a 48-37 advantage on the boards. Jessica Fansler also finished with nine points for the Lady Eagles.

VOLLEYBALL — In its last home match of the season, Winthrop defeated Presbyterian in straight sets (25-19, 25-18 and 25-23) at the Winthrop Coliseum.

The Eagles (18-9, 10-4 Big South) compiled 39 kills, a .290 hitting percentage, 32 digs, 14 block assists, and eight aces.

Senior Kelley Taylor and junior Sara Felts led the offense with 11 kills each. Taylor compiled a .556 hitting performance, while Felts had a .429 hitting percentage. Junior Kellie Sellers was the top defensive contributor with nine digs. Junior Kelsey Hall led in assists with 34.

“Today was an old team effort,” coach Sally Polhamus said. “We served aggressively, but we need to eliminate some of our errors from the baseline. Kelley Taylor and our middles stabilized our offense and found out ways to score. We have been focusing on our defense, and that's what pushed us to the win.”

In the first set, Winthrop started behind as the Blue Hose opened an 8-5 advantage. Winthrop recovered to 8-8 and eventually gained a 16-13 lead, when Presbyterian asked for a timeout. The Eagles dominated the rest of the set, winning 25-19.

Winthrop continued dominating the match in the second set as it opened a slight 13-12 advantage. After a Blue Hose timeout, the Eagles won five of six points and changed the scoreboard to 18-13. Winthrop kept the momentum following another timeout, winning 25-18 in the second set.

In the third game, Winthrop started behind as the Blue Hose led 9-5. But the Eagles recovered and eventually gained a 17-15 lead en route to a 25-23 win.

The Blue Hose compiled 36 kills, 38 digs and eight block assists. Presley Mabrey led the offense with 12 kills.

The Eagles will be back in action at 6 p.m. Friday as they face Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C.