Pembroke, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs shot 61 percent from the field and had five different players score at least 11 points Friday night, but Francis Marion University prevailed in a high-scoring 89-85 season opener in NCAA Division II women's basketball action. FMU starts the season 1-0, while the Bulldogs fall to 0-1.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 61 percent from the field; FMU shot 55 percent
- Francis Marion hit 11-of-23 threes; WU was four-for-13 from beyond the arc
- The Bulldogs held a 29-27 rebounding advantage and 6-5 edge in second-chance points
- FMU scored 24 points off 17 Wingate turnovers
- The WU bench outscored the Francis Marion bench 26-19
- Wingate had 23 assists on 37 field goals
- The 85 points WU scored is more than all but two games all of last season
- The 61 percent shooting from the field is the highest since January of 2018 against Queens
- Wingate falls to 9-6 all-time against Francis Marion

KEY BULLDOGS

- Hannah Clark had 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds, going nine-for-15 from the field
- Bryanna Troutman had 16 points and seven rebounds and four assists going seven-for-11 from the field
- Peyton Davis added 15 points on seven-of-10 shooting
- Lauren Sullivan contributed 11 points and five assists
- AJ Davis had 11 points on five-of-seven shooting
- Haleigh Brandon registered six points and nine rebounds

FIRST QUARTER

- A Zaria Woods jumper gave Francis Marion an early 14-2 lead
- A Jaia Wilson three pulled the 'Dogs within nine, but Scarlett Gilmore's three pushed the lead back to 12
- An AJ Davis layup at the 3:43 mark made it 17-9
- WU ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four
- Troutman started it with a layup, Sullivan scored the final five of the quarter to make it 22-18

SECOND QUARTER

- Two Brandon free throws pulled Wingate within two in the opening minute
- A Lauren Taylor triple pushed the FMU lead back to nine at 31-22 with 7:22 left
- The 'Dogs used an 8-0 run to tie it, with Clark and Ilene Hurley each scoring four points in the spurt
- A Woods bucket at the 1:29 mark put FMU back on top by four
- Two Clark layups in the final 40 seconds tied it at 40 at halftime

THIRD QUARTER

- Clark's layup in the opening minute of the second half put Wingate on top 42-40
- Another Clark layup at the 7:28 mark put the 'Dogs on top by three
- A Woods layup a minute later put Francis Marion back on top by one
- Davis answered with a three, but a Mileia Owens bucket tied it at 51 with 5:05 left
- Taylor put the Patriots on top 56-53 with a triple at the 3:06 mark
- Buckets from Clark and Peyton Davis put WU back on top by one with 1:36 to go
- Jada Richards hit a three with 32 seconds left to give FMU a 61-57 lead
- Troutman's layup with 12 seconds left made it a two-point game heading to the fourth

FOURTH QUARTER

- Clark drilled a three to start the fourth quarter and put the 'Dogs back on top
- A Richards bucket with eight minutes left put Francis Marion on top by three
- An AJ Davis three-point play and Troutman layup gave WU a 69-67 advantage
- A Troutman jumper and two Brandon free throws gave the 'Dogs a three-point lead at the midway point
- Gilmore's layup with four minutes left put Francis Marion back on top 76-75
- Layups from Sullivan and Peyton Davis gave the Bulldogs a 79-76 lead
- Another Sullivan layup made it 81-76 with 2:47 left
- FMU went on a 9-0 run in just over 90 seconds, with Taylor's layup with 54 seconds left making it 85-81
- Peyton Davis answered with a free throw to cut the lead to two with 45 seconds to go
- Free throws from Woods and Oliver gave FMU a four-point lead with 18 seconds remaining
- Woods hit two more free throws with nine seconds left to make it 89-83
- Clark's layup with four seconds to go made the final margin 89-85

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Saturday, taking on UNC Pembroke at 6 p.m.
- The 'Dogs open SAC play at Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
- The Bulldogs host LMU next Saturday at 2 p.m.