Box Score
AMERICUS, GA – Senior reserve point guard Monica Mann scored the game-winning points on a jumper in the lane with five seconds left to give Francis Marion University a 71-70 Peach Belt Conference victory over Georgia Southwestern State University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 15) in women's basketball action.
Francis Marion improves to 9-5 overall and 2-4 in the PBC while remaining unbeaten (9-0) all-time against Georgia Southwestern. The Patriots will complete their rare weekend doubleheader with a road contest at Columbus State University on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Senior Shannon Singleton-Bates led FMU with 24 points. During the game, she passed former Patriot standout Lisa Waldrop-Rivers to move into 10th place on the Patriot career scoring list with 1,504 points – only five points shy of Jeannette Alston for ninth position. She is already in the top-10 on the Peach Belt's all-time scoring list.
Senior point guard Robin Colbert added eight points and seven rebounds. The bench trio of Simone Trice, Danelle Downs, and Hannah Jones combined for 22 points and 18 rebounds as the Patriot reserves outscored the Hurricane substitutes 28-25. FMU also held a 34-26 advantage in points-in-the-paint.
Nadirah Gardner paced GSW (7-6, 1-3) with 19 points.
Georgia Southwestern took a 70-69 lead with 24 seconds remaining following a layup by Kanita Holloway. On the ensuing possession, Singleton-Bates missed a layup, but the Patriots gained the offensive rebound. However, FMU turned the ball over to GSW, but Gardner missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw with 11 ticks left and Trice hauled down the rebound. After Mann's basket that put Francis Marion up 71-70,Gardner missed a potential game-winning attempt at the final horn.
The Hurricanes raced to an early 10-2 lead and held a 14-7 advantage after seven minutes. FMU answered with 11 consecutive points to lead 18-14 near the midway point of the half. The Patriot lead grew to 24-17 after a fast-break layup by Singleton-Bates with 8:31 left before halftime. FMU led 38-34 at intermission.
A layup by Downs with 9:54 remaining in the second stanza gave Francis Marion a 56-49 advantage. A 19-12 spurt by GSW knotted the score at 68-68 with under a minute to play. A free throw by Singleton-Bates produced a one-point FMU lead with 28 seconds left, before Holloway scored her basket that gave GSW a 70-69 lead.
For the second time this season, the Patriots failed to make a three-point attempt (0-for-4). FMU connected on 45.8 percent of its field goal attempts and made 17-of-26 free throws.
1-15-11 1:30 PM at Americus, Ga.
FRANCIS MARION 71, GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN 70
FRANCIS MARION (9-5, 2-4 PBC)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 8-15 8-12 24; Trice, Simone 4-7 0-1 8; Colbert, Robin
3-8 2-4 8; Jones, Hannah 3-4 1-1 7; Downs, Danelle 3-5 1-3 7; Mealing,
Courtney 1-8 4-4 6; Belcher, T.T. 2-7 1-1 5; Mann, Monica 2-2 0-0 4;
Williams-Hayes, Jasm 1-2 0-0 2; Dickerson, Kristen 0-1 0-0 0; Christian,
Brittany 0-0 0-0 0; Bothof, Kendra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 17-26 71.
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN (7-6, 1-3 PBC)
Gardner, Nadirah 9-18 0-1 19; Branch, Terra 5-11 3-5 14; Duhart, Cierra 5-7
1-1 11; Bivins, Jessica 4-7 0-0 11; Campbell, LaConna 1-4 4-4 6; Holloway,
Kanita 2-6 0-0 4; Mitchell, Keyanna 1-5 1-2 3; Arnold, Jarra 1-3 0-0 2;
Walters, Tania 0-2 0-2 0; Smith, Samantha 0-0 0-2 0; White, Shakira 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 28-63 9-17 70.
Halftime: Francis Marion 38 Georgia Southwestern 34.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 0-4 (; Colbert, Robin 0-1; Mealing, Courtney
0-2; Dickerson, Kristen 0-1), Georgia Southwestern 5-17 (Bivins, Jessica
3-3; Branch, Terra 1-6; Gardner, Nadirah 1-2; Holloway, Kanita 0-3;
Mitchell, Keyanna 0-1; Arnold, Jarra 0-1; Campbell, LaConna 0-1). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-None, Georgia Southwestern-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 44 (Trice, Simone 9), Georgia Southwestern 35 (Duhart, Cierra 9).
Assists--Francis Marion 8 (Mealing, Courtney 4), Georgia Southwestern 13
(Gardner, Nadirah 3; Walters, Tania 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 13,
Georgia Southwestern 23. Technical fouls--None. A-304
