AMERICUS, GA - Facing its first halftime deficit of the season, Francis Marion University responded by shooting 64 percent in the final stanza to rally and claim a 93-79 road win over Georgia Southwestern State University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion improves to 9-0 overall, equaling the third-best start in school in history, and is now 2-0 in the PBC.

Sophomore Shannon Singleton-Bates led Francis Marion with a career-high 27 points as she connected on 10-of-12 field goal attempts and 7-of-8 free throws in only 27 minutes of action.  Senior guard Jennifer Dyer scored 19 points, hitting on 5-of-9 three-point attempts, and recorded six steals.  Junior Shana Franks chipped in 14 points and senior Creshenda Singletary added 13 off the FMU bench.

Guard Brandi Burris led the Hurricanes (5-4, 0-2) with 19 points.

Despite owning a 30-20 advantage with 8:03 left in the first half, the Patriots found themselves facing a 43-40 deficit when the halftime horn sounded.  FMU missed 11 of its final 16 shots of the opening 20 minutes.

Francis Marion scored the first six points of the second stanza to take a 46-43 lead.  After consecutive GSW baskets put the Hurricanes up briefly at 47-46, Francis Marion put together a 9-0 run and never trailed again.  Singleton-Bates had a pair of layups in the run.

A three-point play by Singleton-Bates gave FMU a 13-point advantage (67-54) with 13:31 remaining, but GSW answered with a 16-5 spurt that trimmed the Patriot lead to 72-70 with 9:01 on the clock.

Singleton-Bates hit a pair of free throws and Franks converted a layup to restore the Patriot margin to five points and Francis Marion gradually pulled away for the 14-point win.  Francis Marion's largest lead came at 89-73 with 4:12 left following another Franks layup.  The Patriot defense forced the Hurricanes to misfire on 16 of their final 19 field goal attempts.

Francis Marion forced 31 GSW turnovers and held a 36-21 advantage in points-off-turnovers.

Freshman 6-0 center Dominique Powell added eight points, a team-high 10 rebounds, and five blocked shots to the FMU cause.

FMU continues its three-game Peach Belt road trip on Wednesday when the Patriots play at 18th-ranked USC Aiken at 5:30 p.m.  FMU's next home game will be Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m. against local-rival UNC Pembroke.

01/03/09 2:00 pm at Americus, GA
FRANCIS MARION 93, GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN 79

FRANCIS MARION (9-0, 2-0 PBC)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 10-12 7-8 27; Dyer, Jennifer 6-11 2-2 19; Franks, Shana
7-12 0-0 14; Singletary,Creshenda 6-12 1-2 13; Powell, Dominique 3-7 2-4 8;
Ransom, Kevina 2-3 0-0 4; Fields, Eboni 1-8 0-0 3; Downs, Danelle 1-1 0-0 2;
Morgan, Shaquana 1-2 0-0 2; Colbert, Robin 0-3 1-2 1; Kiefer, Katherine 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 37-71 13-18 93.
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN (5-4, 0-2 PBC)
Burris, Brandi 6-12 5-6 19; Gardner, Nadirah 6-12 3-3 15; Reynolds, Brittany
4-11 5-6 13; Branch, Terra 4-11 2-2 11; Wiltz, Whitley 4-11 0-0 8; Corbett,
Clarissa 1-4 3-7 5; Sharp, Jamilah 2-7 0-0 4; Hadley, Arile 0-2 4-4 4;
Pullen, Cherelle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-71 22-28 79.
Halftime: GSW 43  Francis Marion 40
3-point goals--Francis Marion 6-21 (Dyer, Jennifer 5-9; Fields, Eboni 1-6;
Singletary,Creshenda 0-2; Colbert, Robin 0-1; Franks, Shana 0-3), Georgia
Southwestern 3-8 (Burris, Brandi 2-4; Branch, Terra 1-1; Sharp, Jamilah 0-1;
Gardner, Nadirah 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Georgia
Southwestern-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 38 (Powell, Dominique 10),
Georgia Southwestern 48 (Reynolds, Brittany 11). Assists--Francis Marion 16
(Colbert, Robin 4), Georgia Southwestern 10 (Burris, Brandi 3; Wiltz,
Whitley 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 24, Georgia Southwestern 18.
Technical fouls--none. A-144