SAVANNAH, GA - Freshman guard Courtney Mealing scored a career-high 19 points and for the second consecutive game Francis Marion University registered a red-hot second-half shooting performance as the 18th-ranked Patriots raced past Armstrong Atlantic State University 104-81, Saturday evening (Feb. 27) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion concludes its regular season with a 24-3 overall mark and a 16-2 PBC record.  By virtue of Lander University's win at Augusta State University on Saturday, the Patriots finish second in the East Division standings and will play host to third-seeded USC Aiken in a first-round PBC Tournament game on Tuesday at 7 p.m.  The semifinals and finals of the tournament will be held March 6-7 in Aiken.

Junior Shannon Singleton-Bates led FMU with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while senior guard Eboni Fields added 17 points.  Mealing connected on 9-of-13 shots en route to her 19 points, while also grabbing four rebounds.  Junior point guard Robin Colbert tallied eight points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

Portia Jones led AASU (9-17, 6-12) with 22 points and eight rebounds.

The Patriots shot a sizzling 59.5 percent over the final 20 minutes, hitting 22-of-37 field goal attempts.  That enabled FMU to expand a 51-42 halftime lead.

Francis Marion claimed the nine-point margin thanks to a 14-4 run to close the first stanza.  To open the second half, FMU hit six of its first seven shots to fuel a 13-2 spurt that pushed the lead to 64-44. After a Jones layup for AASU broke the momentum momentarily, the Patriots responded with eight straight points to open a 72-46 advantage with 14:45 left.

AASU rallied briefly to within 79-63 with 7:44 on the clock.  However minutes later, Francis Marion scored 12 consecutive points to go ahead 101-71 with 2:33 remaining.

The Patriot bench outscored the AASU reserves 45-6 and FMU led 64-30 in points-in-the-paint and 31-7 in fast break points.  FMU also outrebounded the Pirates 56-43.

For the game, Francis Marion shot 49.4 percent from the floor, despite making only 4-of-18 three-point attempts, and the Patriots were 20-of-30 at the foul line.

2-27-10 5:30 p.m. at Savannah, Ga. (Alumni Arena)
#18 FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 104, ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC 81
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (#3 24-3, 16-2)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 9-12 4-5 22; Mealing, Courtney 9-13 1-1 19; Fields,
Eboni 6-15 3-3 17; Franks, Shana 3-9 2-2 9; Mealing, Nicole 4-8 0-0 9;
Colbert, Robin 2-3 4-7 8; Coleman, Dawn 2-4 1-2 5; Mann, Monica 1-2 2-2 4;
Bowens, Tiahana 1-4 1-4 3; Tucker, Precious 1-6 1-2 3; Downs, Danelle 1-3
1-2 3; Trice, Simone 1-2 0-0 2; Imani, Ana 0-0 0-0 0; Dickerson, Kristen 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 40-81 20-30 104.
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC (9-17, 6-12 PBC)
Jones, Portia 9-14 1-2 22; Hall, Lauren 5-16 7-8 18; Walker, Jazmin 7-19
4-10 18; Amirkhanyan, Arpine 2-9 7-8 11; Thomas, Dartayvia 3-6 0-0 6;
McFarland, Briana 3-7 0-0 6; Boni, Jenea 0-0 0-0 0; Hill, Lindsey 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 29-73 19-28 81.
Halftime: Francis Marion 51 Armstrong Atlantic 42
3-point goals--Francis Marion University 4-18 (Fields, Eboni 2-8; Mealing,
Nicole 1-2; Franks, Shana 1-4; Coleman, Dawn 0-1; Mealing, Courtney 0-2;
Singleton-Bates, Sha 0-1), Armstrong Atlantic 4-14 (Jones, Portia 3-4; Hall,
Lauren 1-8; McFarland, Briana 0-1; Walker, Jazmin 0-1). Fouled out--Francis
Marion University-None, Armstrong Atlantic-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion
University 55 (Colbert, Robin 9), Armstrong Atlantic 43 (Amirkhanyan, Arpine
8; Walker, Jazmin 8; Jones, Portia 8). Assists--Francis Marion University 25
(Mealing, Nicole 5; Colbert, Robin 5), Armstrong Atlantic 11 (Walker, Jazmin
5). Total fouls--Francis Marion University 22, Armstrong Atlantic 19.
Technical fouls--None.A-212

     Courtney Mealing