Box Score FLORENCE, SC - Sisters Nicole and Courtney Mealing came off the
Francis Marion University bench and combined for 31 points,
including all 11 in a decisive second-half run, as the 18th-ranked
Patriots bested Georgia Southwestern State University 87-74,
Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16) in Peach Belt Conference women's
basketball action.
Francis Marion (13-2, 5-1) remains in second place in the PBC's
East Division while also improving to 9-0 at home this
season. The Patriots quickly return to the court on Sunday
hosting Columbus State University in a 1:30 p.m. contest.
Senior Nicole Mealing scored a team-high 16 points, on 6-of-10
shooting, while freshman Courtney Mealing tallied a career-high
equaling 15 points. Junior point guard Robin Colbert added 14
points and five assists, while junior forward Shannon
Singleton-Bates chipped in 10 points and grabbed a game-high eight
rebounds.
Center Whitley Wiltz and guard Terra Branch paced four
Hurricanes (7-7, 2-2) in double figures with 16 and 14 points
respectively.
The two teams combined to miss 20 of the game's first 25 field
goal attempts and the Hurricanes led 8-6 after the opening seven
minutes. Trailing 16-15, Francis Marion outscored Georgia
Southwestern 22-10 over the final 8:12 of the first half to lead
37-26 at intermission.
A layup by Shana Franks upped the Patriot advantage to 15 points
(41-26) early in the second stanza. The Hurricanes gradually
chipped away at the margin and finally cut the lead to one point
(43-42) following a three-point play by Jonneshia Pineda with 14:40
left. The Mealings then combined to score the game's next 11
points (Courtney 6, Nicole 5) as the Patriots surged ahead
54-42. Georgia Southwestern would get no closer than nine
points the remainder of the game.
Francis Marion forced 43 Hurricane turnovers that resulted in 33
points, while remaining unbeaten (8-0) in the all-time series.
1-16-10 1:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University
Center)
#18 FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 87, GEORGIA
SOUTHWESTERN ST. UNIV. 74
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN ST. UNIV. (7-7 , 2-2 PBC)
Wiltz, Whitley 6-10 2-4 16; Branch, Terra 6-14 0-0 14;
Murphy, Tonette 3-6
5-6 12; Bivins, Jessica 5-12 1-2 11; Reynolds, Brittany
4-8 1-2 9; Burris,
Brandi 2-2 5-6 9; Pineda, Jonneshia 1-1 1-1 3; Williams,
Amiri 0-0 0-0 0;
Holloway, Kanita 0-2 0-0 0; Gardner, Nadirah 0-6 0-0 0;
Elkins, Sylvia 0-0
0-0 0; Crawley, Qouston 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 15-21
74.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (#18 13-2 , 5-1)
Mealing, Nicole 6-10 2-3 16; Mealing, Courtney 6-15 2-5
15; Colbert, Robin
4-4 6-8 14; Singleton-Bates, Sha 3-11 4-8 10; Fields,
Eboni 3-8 0-0 8;
Franks, Shana 4-7 0-0 8; Tucker, Precious 3-6 1-2 7;
Bowens, Tiahana 2-4 3-6
7; Mann, Monica 0-1 1-1 1; Trice, Simone 0-0 1-2 1; Downs,
Danelle 0-0 0-0
0; Coleman, Dawn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-66 20-35
87.
Halftime: Francis Marion 37 Georgia Southwestern St.
Univ. 26
3-point goals--Georgia Southwestern St. Univ. 5-12
(Branch, Terra 2-5;
Wiltz, Whitley 2-3; Murphy, Tonette 1-1; Holloway, Kanita
0-1; Bivins,
Jessica 0-2), Francis Marion University 5-14 (Mealing,
Nicole 2-4; Fields,
Eboni 2-6; Mealing, Courtney 1-4). Fouled out--Georgia
Southwestern St.
Univ.-Holloway, Kanita, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--Georgia
Southwestern St. Univ. 41 (Reynolds, Brittany 7), Francis
Marion University
39 (Singleton-Bates, Sha 8). Assists--Georgia Southwestern
St. Univ. 18
(Reynolds, Brittany 5; Murphy, Tonette 5), Francis Marion
University 21
(Mann, Monica 7). Total fouls--Georgia Southwestern St.
Univ. 27, Francis
Marion University 26. Technical fouls--Reynolds, Mann.
A-600