Box Score PEMBROKE, NC – Senior forward Jotoya Kemp scored 11 of her team-high 31 points during a 25-4 run to end the first half and UNC Pembroke held off a second-half rally by Francis Marion University to take an 85-74 Peach Belt Conference win over the Patriots, Sunday afternoon (Jan. 2) in women's college basketball action.
The loss over-shadowed a career-high 32 point performance by FMU senior Shannon Singleton-Bates. She connected on 10-of-19 shots and 8-of-9 free throws to eclipse the 1,400 point mark for her career and move past former Patriot guard Gwen Canty into 12th place on the school's career scoring list.
Francis Marion drops to 7-3 overall and 0-2 in the PBC. The Patriots will host second-ranked Lander University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Sophomore guard Courtney Mealing added 15 points for Francis Marion, while 5-10 junior forward Simone Trice equaled her career high of 12 points for the second consecutive contest. Senior point guard Robin Colbert chipped in 10 points. Both Trice and Colbert hauled down eight rebounds.
Kemp pulled down 12 rebounds for the Lady Braves (5-6, 1-2) and connected on 11-of-13 field goal attempts.
The opening stanza featured several runs by both teams, but the Patriots crept out to a 31-23 lead following a tip-in by Trice with 8:15 left before halftime. UNCP then scored 25 of the next 29 points to rally to a 48-35 advantage at halftime.
The UNCP lead grew to 51-35 moments into the second half, but the Patriots gradually got back into the game, cutting the deficit to 61-58 on a layup by Mealing with 10:28 left. UNCP then scored 10 straight points to expand the margin to 71-58.
The closest Francis Marion would get after that point was 76-71 with 1:10 remaining after a jumper in the lane by Monica Mann. The Lady Braves then hit 9-of-12 free throws over the final minute to seal the win.
1-2-11 1:30 PM at Pembroke, N.C. - English E. Jones Center
UNC PEMBROKE 85, FRANCIS MARION 74
FRANCIS MARION (7-3, 0-2 PBC)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 10-19 8-9 32; Mealing, Courtney 7-18 0-0 15; Trice,
Simone 5-8 2-2 12; Colbert, Robin 4-13 2-4 10; Christian, Brittany 1-1 0-0
3; Mann, Monica 1-4 0-0 2; Jones, Hannah 0-0 0-0 0; Dickerson, Kristen 0-1
0-0 0; Downs, Danelle 0-1 0-0 0; Belcher, T.T. 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 12-15 74.
UNC PEMBROKE (5-6, 1-2 PBC)
Jatoya Kemp 11-13 9-12 31; Illya Hunt 3-8 7-8 16; Kristen Hobbs 4-7 0-0 12;
Domonique Washington 2-6 7-9 11; DeDe Cotten 2-10 3-4 8; Courtney Bolton 2-5
1-2 5; Dayday Ray 1-4 0-0 2; Talena Faison 0-1 0-0 0; Anya Knower 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 25-56 27-35 85.
Halftime: UNCP 48 Francis Marion 35.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 6-17 (Singleton-Bates, Sha 4-10; Christian,
Brittany 1-1; Mealing, Courtney 1-5; Mann, Monica 0-1), UNC Pembroke 8-21
(Kristen Hobbs 4-7; Illya Hunt 3-7; DeDe Cotten 1-5; Courtney Bolton 0-1;
Domonique Washington 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Mann, Monica;
Christian, Brittany, UNC Pembroke-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 28 (Trice,
Simone 8; Colbert, Robin 8), UNC Pembroke 49 (Jatoya Kemp 12).
Assists--Francis Marion 12 (Mann, Monica 4), UNC Pembroke 18 (Domonique
Washington 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion 28, UNC Pembroke 17. Technical
fouls--None. A-215
