FLORENCE, SC - Junior Shannon Singleton-Bates led three starters in double figures with 14 points and the Francis Marion University defense forced 55 Converse College turnovers as the Patriots claimed a season-opening 91-57 win, Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15) in women's college basketball action.

Following Singleton-Bates in the scoring column for FMU was senior guard Shana Franks with 13 and junior point guard Robin Colbert with 11 points, four assists, and six steals.  Thirteen of the 14 Patriots scored in the contest.  A pair of senior frontline players, Nicole Mealing and Precious Tucker, both came off the bench and tallied nine points apiece.  Junior 6-0 center Danelle Downs led the Patriots in rebounding with nine, while adding four points.

Senior 5-11 swing player Ashley Arff led Converse (0-1) with 24 points and 12 rebounds.  The loss spoiled a homecoming for second-year Converse coach Joanna Tincher who played for Francis Marion earlier this decade and graduated from FMU in 2004.

Francis Marion broke an early 2-2 tie with an 8-0 run and never trailed in the game.  The advantage would grow to 25-6, but Converse rallied to trim the margin to 28-15 following a pair of free throws by Alaina Smith with 8:47 left in the opening half.  The Patriots then scored the next seven points and would lead 58-26 at intermission.

The largest margin would be 38 points which Francis Marion enjoyed on four occasions in the second stanza.

FMU converted the 55 Converse miscues into 43 points.  The Patriots also held a 32-7 edge in fast-break points and dominated points-in-the-paint by a 56-18 margin.

Francis Marion will play host to Fayetteville State University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. on "RIOT at the Rim Night" sponsored by Chick-fil-A and Sodexho.  Converse will play at Carson-Newman College on Friday at 6 p.m. as part of the two-day Carson-Newman Tournament.

11-15-09 2 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 91, CONVERSE COLLEGE 57
CONVERSE COLLEGE (0-1)
Arff, Ashley 6-12 9-10 24; Nickens, Latrell 2-6 4-6 9; Sacharski, Morgan 3-4
3-7 9; Smith, Alaina 1-9 5-6 7; Vaughn, Katie 2-2 2-2 6; Mobley, Quintoya
1-3 0-0 2; Collier, Jasmine 0-6 0-0 0; Middlebrooks,Jasmine 0-3 0-0 0;
Henderson, Danielle 0-1 0-0 0; Mooney, Amber 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-48 23-31 57.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (1-0)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 7-15 0-0 14; Franks, Shana 6-14 0-0 13; Colbert, Robin
3-7 5-8 11; Tucker, Precious 3-9 3-4 9; Mealing, Nicole 4-10 0-1 9; Fields,
Eboni 3-6 0-0 8; Trice, Simone 4-7 0-2 8; Coleman, Dawn 1-1 2-4 4; Downs,
Danelle 1-5 2-4 4; Mealing, Courtney 2-6 0-0 4; Mann, Monica 2-4 0-0 4;
Imani, Ana 1-5 0-0 2; Wilson, Tiffany 0-0 1-2 1; Dickerson, Kristen 0-3 0-0
0. Totals 37-92 13-25 91.
Halftime: Francis Marion 58 Converse 26
3-point goals--Converse College 4-19 (Arff, Ashley 3-6; Nickens, Latrell
1-3; Smith, Alaina 0-2; Mobley, Quintoya 0-1; Collier, Jasmine 0-5;
Middlebrooks,Jasmine 0-1; Henderson, Danielle 0-1), Francis Marion
University 4-14 (Fields, Eboni 2-4; Mealing, Nicole 1-2; Franks, Shana 1-3;
Trice, Simone 0-1; Mealing, Courtney 0-3; Mann, Monica 0-1). Fouled
out--Converse College-None, Francis Marion University-Coleman, Dawn.
Rebounds--Converse College 45 (Arff, Ashley 12), Francis Marion University
55 (Downs, Danelle 9). Assists--Converse College 10 (Sacharski, Morgan 4),
Francis Marion University 18 (Mann, Monica 4; Fields, Eboni 4; Colbert,
Robin 4). Total fouls--Converse College 22, Francis Marion University 31.
Technical fouls--None. A-483