SAVANNAH, GA - Senior point guard Kevina Ransom came off the Francis Marion University bench to tally 20 points and five steals and lead the 19th-ranked Patriots to a 75-61 road win over Armstrong Atlantic State University, Monday night (Feb. 2) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion wins its eighth straight game and at 17-1 is off to the fourth-best start in the program's storied history.  The Patriots also maintain a 1.5-game lead in the PBC standings by improving to 10-1.

FMU hosts 23rd-ranked USC Aiken on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.  The Lady Pacers handed the Patriots their lone loss last month in Aiken.

On Monday, Ransom connected on 6-of-9 field goal attempts and 8-of-9 free throws.  Sophomore Shannon Singleton-Bates added 17 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Shana Franks chipped in 14 points.

Forward Lacey Willis led AASU (11-8, 6-6) with 21 points and nine rebounds.  Francis Marion held the Pirates to 28.8 percent shooting (15-of-52) and forced 33 AASU turnovers.

Francis Marion scored the game's opening seven points, but AASU rallied to tie the contest at 9-9.  FMU responded with an 8-0 run and never trailed.  A basket by Singleton-Bates put the Patriots up 29-16 with 6:13 left in the first half. 

AASU closed to within 32-25 only to see the Patriots score the final eight points of the stanza to lead 40-25 at halftime.  Ransom had four points in that spurt.

A three-pointer by FMU senior Jennifer Dyer opened the second half and the Patriot lead would swell to 21 points on several occasions.  

02-02-09 5:30 p.m. at Savannah, Ga.
#19 FRANCIS MARION 75, ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC 61

FRANCIS MARION (17-1, 10-1 PBC)
Ransom, Kevina 6-9 8-9 20; Singleton-Bates, Sha 7-14 3-4 17; Franks, Shana
4-15 4-6 14; Singletary,Creshenda 4-7 1-2 9; Dyer, Jennifer 2-4 0-0 6;
Downs, Danelle 1-3 2-2 4; Colbert, Robin 1-4 0-0 2; Fields, Eboni 1-4 0-0 2;
Powell, Dominique 0-3 1-2 1; Morgan, Shaquana 0-0 0-0 0; Kiefer, Katherine
0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 19-25 75.
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC (11-8, 6-6 PBC)
Willis, Lacey 5-16 11-12 21; Thomas, Dartayvia 2-11 6-8 11; Jones, Portia
2-7 2-4 8; Versluis, Kelly 1-5 5-5 7; Hill, Lindsey 2-4 2-2 6; Duhart,
Ashley 1-1 2-4 4; Mitchell, Mallory 1-2 0-0 2; Hall, Lauren 1-2 0-0 2; Boni,
Jenea 0-0 0-0 0; Holmes, Lindsey 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 15-52 28-35 61.
Halftime:  Francis Marion 40 AASU 25
3-point goals--Francis Marion 4-10 (Franks, Shana 2-4; Dyer, Jennifer 2-3;
Fields, Eboni 0-3), Armstrong Atlantic 3-12 (Jones, Portia 2-5; Thomas,
Dartayvia 1-1; Mitchell, Mallory 0-1; Holmes, Lindsey 0-4; Willis, Lacey
0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Armstrong Atlantic-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 34 (Singleton-Bates, Sha 8), Armstrong Atlantic 51
(Thomas, Dartayvia 11). Assists--Francis Marion 10 (Singletary,Creshenda 3),
Armstrong Atlantic 12 (Duhart, Ashley 4). Total fouls--Francis Marion 27,
Armstrong Atlantic 21. Technical fouls--None. A-167