MILLEDGEVILLE, GA - Seniors Shana Franks and Eboni Fields scored season-high point totals of 24 and 21 respectively to lead 17th-ranked Francis Marion University to a 92-77 win over Georgia College & State University, Friday evening (Jan. 29) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion (16-2, 8-1) wins for the sixth straight time while snapping GC&SU's six-game winning streak and handing the Lady Bobcats (13-5, 6-2) their first home loss of the year and knocking them out of sole possession of first place in the PBC's West Division.

Franks came off the Patriots bench to hit on 9-of-15 shots in only 22 minutes of action.  Junior Shannon Singleton-Bates tallied 16 points to draw within 14 points of 1,000 for her career.  Sophomore forward Simone Trice scored only four points, but pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.

Guard Chimere Jordan led GC&SU with a season-high equaling 28 points and eight rebounds.

FMU trailed only once at 2-0 and the scored was tied only once at 16-16.  The Patriots led 30-26 when Franks contributed five points to a 9-0 FMU run.  Francis Marion led 49-35 at halftime after shooting 51.3 percent from the floor in the opening half and holding the Lady Bobcats to 33.3 percent. 

Only once in the second stanza did GC&SU trim the margin under double digits, 70-62 after a jump shot by Jordan with 9:34 remaining.  FMU responded with a 14-0 spurt, with Franks again scoring five, to take a commanding 84-62 lead with 6:12 left.

Francis Marion outrebounded GC&SU 51-40 and led 50-20 in "points-in-the-paint." 

The Patriots will play at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Ala., on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. (eastern time).

1-29-10 5:30 p.m. at Milledgeville, GA (Centennial Center)
#17 FRANCIS MARION 92, GEORGIA COLLEGE 77
FRANCIS MARION (#17  16-2, 8-1)
Franks, Shana 9-15 3-3 24; Fields, Eboni 8-18 2-2 21; Singleton-Bates, Sha 7-14 1-3 16; Mealing, Nicole 3-4 0-0 8; Bowens, Tiahana 3-7 2-2 8; Tucker, Precious 2-8 1-2 5; Colbert, Robin 2-3 0-0 4; Trice, Simone 2-4 0-2 4; Mealing, Courtney 1-1 0-0 2; Imani, Ana 0-0 0-0 0; Coleman, Dawn 0-0 0-0 0; Downs, Danelle 0-2 0-0 0; Mann, Monica 0-2 0-0 0; Dickerson, Kristen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-79 9-14 92.
GEORGIA COLLEGE (13-5, 6-2 PBC)
Jordan, Chimere 9-15 8-8 28; Clark, Candice 3-20 4-6 10; Huffin, Dominique 4-11 0-1 10; Moore, Shandrea 3-9 3-4 10; Reames, Antoinette 3-6 2-2 8; Baker, Jessica 3-3 0-0 8; Law, Tammeshia 1-3 1-2 3; Fox, Ashleigh 0-0 0-0 0; Bleach, Shaquana 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 26-71 18-23 77.
Halftime: Francis Marion 49 Georgia College 35
3-point goals--Francis Marion 9-17 (Fields 3-7; Franks 3-4; N.Mealing 2-3; Singleton-Bates 1-2; Mann 0-1), Georgia College 7-17 (Huffin 2-5; Baker 2-2; Jordan 2-3; Moore 1-3; Bleach 0-3; Clark 0-1). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 51 (Trice 11), Georgia College 40 (Reames 13). Assists--Francis Marion 13 (Mann 5), Georgia College 12 (Moore 4). Total fouls--Francis Marion 18, Georgia College 10. Technical fouls--None. A-365