Box Score
FLORENCE, SC - Junior guard Eboni Fields scored 17 of her
team-high 22 points in the first half to help guide 15th-ranked
Francis Marion University to a 94-61 win over Columbus State
University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 14) in Peach Belt Conference
women's basketball action.
Francis Marion (21-1, 14-1) wins its 12th consecutive game,
equaling the fifth-longest streak in team history and the longest
for a Patriot squad since the 1998-99 squad won 17 straight. The
margin of victory was the largest ever for the Patriots over the
Cougars in the storied 40-game series. FMU also widens its lead in
the PBC standings to two full games as second-place Clayton State
University was idle on Saturday and third-place GCSU lost.
Following Fields was senior guard Jennifer Dyer with 18 points,
15 of which came after halftime. Senior point guard Kevina
Ransom continued her stellar play with 16 points, eight steals, and
six assists in only 22 minutes of action. Her thefts pushed
her past two former Patriot stars (Lisa Waldrop and Mary Jackson)
and into fifth place on the team's all-time steals list with 243.
Junior guard Shana Franks added 12 points to the Patriot attack,
which continues to lead the nation in scoring offense.
Junior 6-0 forward Phebe Smith paced Columbus State (13-12, 6-9)
with 24 points, on 10-of-16 shooting, and nine rebounds. Junior
forward Hali Moore tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, while
freshman guard Nikki Urbizo added 11 points and eight assists.
Fields came off the bench to hit on 4-of-9 three-pointers in the
opening half as the Patriots overcame a slow start. CSU
scored the game's first seven points before FMU rallied to tie the
game at 8-8 on a steal and layup by Ransom.
CSU took its final lead of the game at 12-11 on a layup by Smith
with 12:49 left in the opening stanza. A 9-0 run, that
included five points from Fields, put FMU up 20-12. After CSU
closed to within 22-19 with seven minutes left before halftime,
Francis Marion responded with a 15-5 burst that included four
three-pointers by three different players and produced a 37-24
advantage. Two more triples, by Fields and Shannon
Singleton-Bates, allowed FMU to leave the floor at halftime with a
45-28 lead.
A three-pointer by Dyer to open the second half pushed the
margin to 20 points, and the lead would not dip under that mark for
the rest of the contest. Altogether, FMU hit 7-of-11
three-point attempts over a 6:33 span that began in the first half
and carried over into the second stanza.
FMU's largest lead came at 86-44 following a three-pointer by
Fields with 6:21 remaining in the contest.
The Patriot defense forced 36 Cougar turnovers that were
converted into 62 points. Twelve different Patriots scored
before a Homecoming crowd of 1,152.
Francis Marion plays at Lander University on Monday at 5:30
p.m., while CSU hosts Georgia College & State University also
on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
02-14-09 2 pm at Florence, SC
#15 FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 94, COLUMBUS STATE
61
COLUMBUS STATE (13-12 , 6-9)
Smith, Phebe 10-16 4-7 24; Moore, Hali 4-11 3-3 11; Urbizo, Nikki
4-4 0-0
11; Stafford, Ashley 2-3 2-2 6; Jefferson, Monique 3-7 0-0 6;
Edwards,
Jessica 0-2 2-2 2; Gardner, Destanie 0-0 1-2 1; Ferdinand,
Chauntel 0-3 0-0
0; Nye, Kristi 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 12-16 61.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (#15 21-1 , 14-1)
Fields, Eboni 7-15 3-3 22; Dyer, Jennifer 7-9 0-0 18; Ransom,
Kevina 7-10
2-2 16; Franks, Shana 5-9 1-2 12; Singleton-Bates, Sha 2-8 2-2 7;
Powell,
Dominique 2-4 1-3 5; Singletary,Creshenda 1-2 2-2 4; Kiefer,
Katherine 1-4
0-0 3; Downs, Danelle 0-0 2-2 2; Ruff, Evelyn 1-4 0-0 2; Colbert,
Robin 1-4
0-0 2; Howze, Tenisha 0-2 1-2 1; Wheatland, Keahna 0-1 0-0 0;
Morgan,
Shaquana 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-74 14-18 94.
Halftime: Francis Marion 45 Columbus State 28
3-point goals--Columbus State 3-8 (Urbizo, Nikki 3-3; Stafford,
Ashley 0-1;
Jefferson, Monique 0-3; Ferdinand, Chauntel 0-1), Francis Marion
University
12-26 (Fields, Eboni 5-12; Dyer, Jennifer 4-6; Singleton-Bates,
Sha 1-1;
Kiefer, Katherine 1-1; Franks, Shana 1-3; Ruff, Evelyn 0-2;
Morgan, Shaquana
0-1). Fouled out--Columbus State-None, Francis Marion
University-None.
Rebounds--Columbus State 29 (Smith, Phebe 9), Francis Marion
University 36
(Downs, Danelle 4; Colbert, Robin 4). Assists--Columbus State 18
(Urbizo,
Nikki 8), Francis Marion University 22 (Colbert, Robin 6; Ransom,
Kevina 6).
Total fouls--Columbus State 17, Francis Marion University 17.
Technical
fouls--None. A-1152