Sophomore center Tracey Tillman scored 26 points and senior point guard Kim Slawson added a career-high 22 points to lead Francis Marion College to a 96-70 victory over Georgia Southwestern College in the NAIA Bi-District XI championship game, March 5 in Florence.

The victory upped Francis Marion's record to 32-2.  The win assured the squad of the number-one seed in the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.  The Lady Patriots will play Dominican College (NY) in a first-round game on March 14 in Kansas City's Bartle Hall.  The quarterfinals will be March 15 also in Bartle Hall. The semifinals are set for 2 and 4 p.m. (EST) on March 17 in Kemper Arena, with the championship contest set for 7 p.m. (EST) on March 18, also in Kemper Arena.

After battling Georgia Southwestern even for first ten minutes, junior forward Lisa Waldrop gave the Lady Patriots the lead for good at 24-22 on a lay-up with 9:18 remaining in the first half.  Following Waldrop's basket, FMU outscored Georgia Southwestern 23-7 the remainder of the half to lead 47-29 at intermission.  The Lady Patriots connected on 64.5 percent of the field goal attempts (20-of-31) over the opening 20 minutes, while holding GSW to only 27.3 percent shooting.

The Lady Hurricanes (23-2) closed the gap to 14 points at 64-50 with 10:46 left in the game.  However, Francis Marion's Tillman hit three straight baskets and Slawson added two free throws to give the Lady Patriots a 72-50 advantage.

Slawson had a record-breaking night at the foul line. Her 14 made free throws tied an FMC single-game record, while her 19 free throw attempts set a record.

Senior 6-0 forward Jeannette Alston added 16 points, nine assists, and seven steals to the Francis Marion attack, while junior guard Maria Murdock chipped in 10 points.

Junior 5-10 forward Bridgette Colson led Georgia Southwestern with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

For the game, Francis Marion shot 55.7 percent from the floor and was 28-of-37 at the foul line.  GSW connected on 39.0 percent of its field goal attempts and was only 6-of-13 at the charity stripe.

The game marked the final Smith College Center appearance for the three Lady Patriot seniors: Slawson and Jeannette and Annette Alston.