Lady Pats soar over Falcons

The FMU lady Patriots rallied behind junior Briana Burgins to battle back from a 12-point haltime deficit to defeat the lady Falcons of Montevallo 68-61.

The Patriots started with difficulty hitting shots but eventually owned a lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter belonged to the Falcons as the Patriots shot only 4-for-19 in the second period of play. FMU had to thank their second- quarter shooting struggle for the 41-29 Montevallo lead that they carried into halftime.

“They started strong but they got down real quick,” Michael Ellis, a senior physical science major, said. “They are making careless errors and got to keep their heads up.” Said senior physical science major Michael Ellis about the first half of the game.

Senior business major Quincy Washington had similar thoughts on the first half.

“We have got to play defense. We need to get turnovers and stop turning the ball over. We got comfortable playing Montevallo’s game. We just have to play ours.” Washington said.

The Patriots answered his request by forcing a plethora of turnovers in the second half.

Burgins was a big part of the second half comeback forcing multiple turnovers and scoring 17 of her 23 points after the intermission.

“What do you want me to say?” said spectator Sarah Anderson. “That girl can flat out play.”

Sophomore Shaunice Fulmore, who tallied 19 points, 11 of which came after the halftime break, scored to end the third quarter and give the Patriots a 49-47 lead. The lead disappeared in the fourth quarter following a 7-0 run by the Falcons to start the final quarter of play. After trailing 54-49 Burgins carried the team and scored a layup and then completed a three-point play that would give the Patriots exactly what they needed to turn on the jets for an 11-2 run that would leave Montevallo behind for good. The Patriots had ice in their veins inside the final minute, knocking down all six of their free throws that put the game too far out of reach for the Falcons.

Burgins wasn’t the only Patriot with a standout game. Freshman guard Abigail Bullock stood out in her first career start, scoring 16 points and hauling down six boards. The Patriots shot 23 out of 35 from the line, while the Falcons shot 9-16.

Sophomore Ashley Dunstan, who scored 18 points overall, led the Falcons, but she was only able to score one bucket in the final 20 minutes.

With the win, the Patriots improve to 7-5 and are on top of the east division with a 2-1 conference record.