Box Score GREENWOOD, SC – Francis Marion University trailed by only two points at halftime, but eventually cold shooting and turnovers doomed the Patriots to a 78-65 road loss to second-ranked Lander University, Wednesday evening (Feb. 16) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.
The Patriots fall to 15-8 overall and 8-7 in the Peach Belt after facing the two top-ranked teams in Division II in their last two outings. FMU will play its final regular-season road game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Augusta State University.
Senior Shannon Singleton-Bates led the Patriots with 16 points, but made only four of 17 shots from the floor. Senior point guard Robin Colbert posted a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, while Monica Mann and Brittany Christian each added 10 points.
Lander senior center Shannon McKever posted a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds despite only playing five minutes due to foul trouble in the opening half. Seventeen of her points and 14 of her rebounds came off intermission. Lander improves to 24-1 and 14-1, while equaling a school record for regular-season victories.
Lady Bearcat guard Jasmine Judge added 18 points as he hit 6-of-13 three-point attempts.
Francis Marion shot only 32.4 percent from the floor, including 5-of-23 from three-point range. The Patriots also committed 24 turnovers. Lander allowed the Patriots to stay close for much of the game as the Lady Bearcats struggled from the free-throw line, hitting only 16-of-31.
Francis Marion gained an early 13-9 advantage, but Lander stormed back to go ahead 25-17. The Patriots responded with a 16-4 run of their own to regain the lead at 33-29. At one point, Singleton-Bates scored nine straight points for FMU. However, Lander scored the half's final six points to carry a 35-33 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Colbert knotted the score at 35-35 with a lay-up early in the second stanza. Lander again scored six straight points and would never trail again. The deficit was seven for FMU at 53-46 when a 7-0 Lander run pushed the margin to 60-46. After an inside hoop by Singleton-Bates, Francis Marion pulled to within 60-51, but another 6-0 spurt by the Lady Bearcats swelled the lead to 66-51.
Christian's three-pointer cut the deficit to 13 points at 72-59 with 3:15 remaining, but that was as close as the Patriots would get.
2-16-11 5:30 p.m. at Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.
#2 LANDER UNIVERSITY 78, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 65
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (15-8, 8-7 PBC)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 4-17 8-10 16; Colbert, Robin 5-12 0-1 11; Christian,
Brittany 3-7 2-2 10; Mann, Monica 3-10 3-5 10; Mealing, Courtney 3-13 0-0 7;
Trice, Simone 2-3 2-2 6; Williams-Hayes, Jasm 2-3 1-2 5; Dickerson, Kristen
0-0 0-0 0; Bothof, Kendra 0-0 0-0 0; Jones, Hannah 0-2 0-0 0; Downs, Danelle
0-1 0-0 0; Belcher, T.T. 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-68 16-22 65.
#2 LANDER UNIVERSITY (24-1, 14-1 PBC)
McKever, Shannon 8-9 5-14 21; Judge, Jasmine 6-13 0-0 18; Myrick, Mukia 5-13
3-5 14; Small, Kaylyn 2-3 2-4 6; Butler, Tasheba 2-7 2-2 6; Lyons, Ciara 2-7
1-1 5; Webb, Brianna 1-8 2-3 5; Robbins, Nardia 1-4 0-0 2; Johnson, Brittni
0-4 1-2 1; Andrews, Shay 0-0 0-0 0; Barnes, Keondra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-68
16-31 78.
Halftime: Lander 35 Francis Marion 33
3-point goals--Francis Marion University 5-23 (Christian, Brittany 2-6;
Mealing, Courtney 1-6; Mann, Monica 1-4; Colbert, Robin 1-4;
Singleton-Bates, Sha 0-3), Lander University 8-29 (Judge, Jasmine 6-13;
Myrick, Mukia 1-5; Webb, Brianna 1-4; Robbins, Nardia 0-3; Johnson, Brittni
0-4). Fouled out--Francis Marion University-None, Lander University-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion University 54 (Colbert, Robin 15), Lander
University 46 (McKever, Shannon 15). Assists--Francis Marion University 13
(Mann, Monica 5), Lander University 22 (Johnson, Brittni 6). Total
fouls--Francis Marion University 21, Lander University 18. Technical
fouls--Lander University TEAM. A-625
