FLORENCE, SC - Clayton State University closed the game with a 40-11 run over the final 9:28 to secure a 92-82 Peach Belt Conference win over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 13) in a battle of two squads both ranked 15th this week in the NCAA Division II women's Top 25 poll.

Francis Marion (20-3 overall, 12-2 in the PBC) suffers it first home loss in 13 contests and only the fifth loss in the past 44 games in the Smith University Center.  Three of those defeats have come at the hands of the Lakers.

The Patriots will celebrate Senior Night on Wednesday when they play host to eight-ranked and conference -leading Lander University at 5:30 p.m.

Senior guard Eboni Fields led FMU in scoring for the third time in the past four games with 19 points.  She was 5-of-10 on three-pointers and has connected on 21-of-38 long-range attempts over the past four games.  Senior Nicole Mealing added 17 points and five assists, while junior Shannon Singleton-Bates registered 11 points and six rebounds.

Guard Teshymia Tillman paced Clayton State (19-4, 10-3) with 23 points, 15 of which came in the decisive rally.  Breanna Fort and Tanisha Woodard each scored 14 points.

Francis Marion trailed only once in the first half at 12-11.  The Patriots responded to that deficit with a 19-4 spurt that produced a 30-16 lead following a jumper in the paint by Singleton-Bates.  The margin would eventually swell to 17 points at 46-29 after a three-pointer by Singleton-Bates with 3:16 left before intermission.  FMU led 51-36 at halftime.

A solid first-half performance saw the Patriots shoot 47.1 percent from the floor and make 13-of-14 free throws, while holding the Lakers to 39.3 percent shooting and no made three-pointers.

The Patriot lead would grow to 19 points on three occasions in the second half, the final time at 71-52 after a jumper by Mealing with 9:49 left.  Following the under-10 minute media timeout, Clayton State went on a 32-4 run over a 6:22 span to erase the deficit and forge ahead 84-75 with two minutes remaining.

A three-pointer by Fields and a fast-break layup by Monica Mann brought Francis Marion to within 85-80 with one minute remaining, but Clayton State hit 7-of-8 free throws in that final 60 seconds to seal the win.

In contrast to the opening half, FMU shot 30 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes and was 5-of-8 at the free throw stripe, while Clayton State hit 51.5 percent from the field and 20-of-27 charity tosses.

In a matchup of the top two teams in Division in steals, FMU lost the points-off-turnovers battle 31-24 and were out-thefted 15-9. 

2-13-10 1:30 p.m. at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
#15 CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY 92, #15 FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 82
CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY (#15  19-4, 10-3)
Tillman, Teshymia 8-14 5-6 23; Fort, Breanna 6-7 2-2 14; Woodard, Tanisha
4-10 6-9 14; Bruce, Latonda 4-9 4-4 12; Hall, Brittany 2-7 6-7 10; Kelly,
Genesis 2-9 3-4 7; Stoudamire, LaDe'Sha 1-4 3-5 5; Jemison, Jene'e 1-1 2-2
4; Stevens, Lesheria 0-0 3-4 3; Metelus, Jorane 0-0 0-0 0; Aker, Ashley 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 28-61 34-43 92.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (#15  20-3, 12-2)
Fields, Eboni 6-13 2-3 19; Mealing, Nicole 8-14 0-0 17; Singleton-Bates, Sha
4-13 2-2 11; Mealing, Courtney 3-5 2-2 8; Mann, Monica 2-7 2-2 6; Bowens,
Tiahana 1-6 4-5 6; Franks, Shana 2-7 0-0 5; Tucker, Precious 1-4 2-4 4;
Colbert, Robin 1-4 2-2 4; Downs, Danelle 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 28-74 18-22 82.
Halftime: Francis Marion 51  Clayton State 36
3-point goals--Clayton State University 2-5 (Tillman, Teshymia 2-3; Hall,
Brittany 0-1; Kelly, Genesis 0-1), Francis Marion University 8-23 (Fields,
Eboni 5-10; Franks, Shana 1-4; Mealing, Nicole 1-4; Singleton-Bates, Sha
1-4; Mealing, Courtney 0-1). Fouled out--Clayton State University-None,
Francis Marion University-Colbert, Robin. Rebounds--Clayton State University
45 (Hall, Brittany 8; Stoudamire, LaDe'Sha 8), Francis Marion University 39
(Singleton-Bates, Sha 6; Tucker, Precious 6). Assists--Clayton State
University 17 (Bruce, Latonda 4), Francis Marion University 19 (Mealing,
Nicole 5; Colbert, Robin 5). Total fouls--Clayton State University 18,
Francis Marion University 28. Technical fouls--None. A-483