FLORENCE, SC - Sophomore Shannon Singleton-Bates scored a career-high 26 points and Francis Marion University tied a school-record with its fourth consecutive 100-point game as the Patriots defeated Erskine College 108-71, Saturday afternoon (Nov. 29) in non-conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion moves to 5-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season when Patriots started 9-0 and finished 27-3 en route to an appearance in the NCAA II Sweet 16.  Erskine falls to 2-1, and the Lady Fleet drop to 1-22 all-time against Francis Marion.

FMU previously scored 100 points in four straight games during the 1987-88 season.

Francis Marion will return to action on Dec. 12 at Coker College for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Erskine hosts Southern Wesleyan University on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Singleton-Bates connected on 12-of-20 shots from the floor in only 24 minutes of action.  Senior Jennifer Dyer and junior Shana Franks each scored 16 points, while junior Eboni Fields and sophomore Robin Colbert both tallied 12 points.  Sophomore 6-0 center Danelle Downs added nine points and a team-high nine rebounds and senior point guard Kevina Ransom handed out 10 assists in only 18 minutes.

Junior guard Audrey Timmerman led Erskine with 18 points, while senior guard Lauren Brendle added 15, and Mary Ann Langford and Porsha Morgan each scored 11 points.  Morgan dished out five assists and 6-0 freshman post player Elizabeth Tatum paced the Lady Fleet on the boards with eight rebounds to go along with seven points.

Francis Marion scored the game's first 13 points and never trailed.  Erskine trailed by 15 points at 33-18 with 5:20 remaining in the first half, but FMU closed the stanza with a 21-4 spurt to lead 54-22 at intermission.

The margin would never dip below 24 points in the second half, and FMU's largest lead (44 points) came on two occasions, the last at 99-55 following a layup by Fields with 5:54 left.

Francis Marion shot 50.6 percentage from the field, including 8-of-19 from beyond the three-point arc, while holding Erskine to 36.2 percent.  The Lady Fleet did hit on 8-of-26 three-point attempts.  The Patriots' defense again was effective forcing 41 Erskine turnovers.  FMU also outrebounded the Lady Fleet 49-33 and held a 68-14 advantage in points in the paint.

11-29-08 2:00 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 108, ERSKINE COLLEGE 71

ERSKINE COLLEGE (2-1)
Timmerman, Audrey 5-17 4-4 18; Brendle, Lauren 4-6 4-4 15; Morgan, Porsha
4-14 2-3 11; Langford, Mary Ann 5-11 1-3 11; Phan, Christine 3-6 3-4 9;
Tatum, Elizabeth 0-4 7-8 7; Henderson, Lauren 0-0 0-0 0; Harris, Jean Marie
0-0 0-1 0. Totals 21-58 21-27 71.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (5-0)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 12-20 2-2 26; Dyer, Jennifer 6-12 1-1 16; Franks, Shana
7-13 0-0 16; Fields, Eboni 5-9 0-0 12; Colbert, Robin 3-4 5-6 12; Downs,
Danelle 4-10 1-1 9; Powell, Dominique 4-6 0-0 8; Kiefer, Katherine 2-4 0-0
4; Morgan, Shaquana 2-4 0-0 4; Howze, Tenisha 0-2 1-2 1; Wheatland, Keahna
0-1 0-0 0; Ransom, Kevina 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 45-89 10-12 108.
Halftime: Francis Marion 54 Erskine 22.
3-point goals--Erskine College 8-26 (Timmerman, Audrey 4-13; Brendle, Lauren
3-5; Morgan, Porsha 1-4; Phan, Christine 0-1; Langford, Mary Ann 0-3),
Francis Marion University 8-19 (Dyer, Jennifer 3-8; Franks, Shana 2-4;
Fields, Eboni 2-3; Colbert, Robin 1-1; Morgan, Shaquana 0-1; Wheatland,
Keahna 0-1; Ransom, Kevina 0-1). Fouled out--Erskine College-None, Francis
Marion University-None. Rebounds--Erskine College 33 (Tatum, Elizabeth 8),
Francis Marion University 49 (Downs, Danelle 9). Assists--Erskine College 17
(Morgan, Porsha 5), Francis Marion University 30 (Ransom, Kevina 10). Total
fouls--Erskine College 13, Francis Marion University 24. Technical
fouls--Erskine College-None, Francis Marion University-None. A-252