AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fresh off a holiday break, GRU Augusta got off to a rough start and never recovered, falling 52-45 to the Francis Marion Patriots in a Peach Belt Conference East division showdown Thursday night in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

The Jaguars (6-3, 2-1 PBC) started off with back-to-back buckets from Whitney Rohrbach and Kelsey Fynaardt, but sloppy ball handling allowed the Patriots (7-2, 2-1 PBC) to rip off a 3-2 run and open a 23-to-10 margin with five minutes on the clock. GRU had more turnovers (12) than points (10) at the 10-minute mark before getting some offense churning in the closing minutes to make it a 25-17 halftime margin.

The Patriots maintained a steady lead through most of the second half, extending the lead to as much as 12. Finally, J Ashby's trey from the top of the arc with 1:10 remaining cut the lead to four, but the Jags couldn't convert a couple of forced turnovers into points and got no closer.

GRU shot 28.3 percent for the game, 5-of-28 in the first half and 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from downtown. Becky Newhouse led with nine points and nine rebounds, while Fynaardt added eight points and nine boards. Ashby and Tavia Sykes chipped in 8 points apiece.

FMU shot 18-of-54 (33.3 percent) from the field, hitting 5-of-12 threes and going 11-of-16 from the stripe. Briana Robinson led all scorers with 14 points.

The Jags are back in action Sunday, Jan. 5 as they host UNC Pembroke in a PBC East matchup at 2:00 p.m.