FLORENCE, SC – Senior Shannon Singleton-Bates scored a game-high 27 points in her final home appearance and Francis Marion University cruised past Armstrong Atlantic State University 98-56, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 26) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion concludes its regular season with an 18-8 overall mark and the Patriots place third in the PBC's East Division with an 11-7 record.  FMU will travel to second-seeded USC Aiken on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for a first-round game in the PBC Tournament.

AASU ends its season at 8-18 and 4-14.

Playing before a Homecoming and Senior Day crowd of 1,143 that included many former players and former head coach Sylvia Hatchell, Singleton-Bates hit on 11-of-25 shots, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded four steals.  She pushed her career scoring total to 1,716 – seventh on the FMU all-time list and sixth on the PBC career list.

Fellow senior Robin Colbert added 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and five steals in final home contest.  Sophomore guard Courtney Mealing scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.  Junior forward Simone Trice added 10 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman forward Mauri Wells and sophomore guard Jazmin Walker led AASU with 15 points and seven rebounds apiece.

AASU jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, but Francis Marion responded with 14 unanswered points and never trailed again.  FMU would push the margin to 20 points (44-24) following a stick-back by T.T. Belcher, before settling for a 44-28 halftime advantage.

Singleton-Bates opened the second stanza with three consecutive three-pointers to expand the Patriot lead to 53-30.  The margin would not dip below 20 points again.  FMU's largest lead came at 96-48 after a pair of free throws by Colbert. 

FMU forced 29 AASU turnovers and converted those miscues into 29 points.  The Patriots also outrebounded the Lady Pirates 44-33 and held an 18-6 advantage in second-chance points.  FMU, which leads the PBC in three-point percentage, hit on a season-hit 11 three-pointers in only 21 attempts.

2-26-11 1:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 98, ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE UNIV. 56

ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE UNIV. (8-18 , 4-14 PBC)
Wells, Mauri 6-10 2-3 15; Walker, Jazmin 5-13 5-11 15; Zuercher, Danielle
2-5 1-2 7; McFarland, Briana 2-4 2-2 6; Amirkhanyan, Arpine 2-4 2-2 6;
Rimbert, Marissa 2-4 0-0 4; Slade, Ashley 1-9 0-0 3; Mitchell, Morgan 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 20-50 12-20 56.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (18-8 , 11-7 PBC)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 11-25 1-2 27; Mealing, Courtney 8-13 1-1 21; Colbert,
Robin 4-9 7-8 15; Trice, Simone 3-4 4-4 10; Belcher, T.T. 3-5 2-3 8;
Christian, Brittany 2-2 0-0 6; Jones, Hannah 1-3 2-2 4; Dickerson, Kristen
1-3 0-0 3; Downs, Danelle 0-3 2-6 2; Williams-Hayes, Jasm 1-1 0-0 2; Bothof,
Kendra 0-0 0-0 0; Imani, Ana 0-0 0-0 0; Mann, Monica 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 34-74
19-26 98.
Halftime: Francis Marion 44 Armstrong Atlantic State 28
3-point goals--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 4-14 (Zuercher, Danielle 2-4;
Slade, Ashley 1-5; Wells, Mauri 1-2; Mitchell, Morgan 0-1; Walker, Jazmin
0-2), Francis Marion University 11-21 (Singleton-Bates, Sha 4-10; Mealing,
Courtney 4-6; Christian, Brittany 2-2; Dickerson, Kristen 1-1; Mann, Monica
0-1; Colbert, Robin 0-1). Fouled out--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ.-None,
Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 33
(Wells, Mauri 7; Walker, Jazmin 7), Francis Marion University 44 (Colbert,
Robin 9; Trice, Simone 9). Assists--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 12
(Walker, Jazmin 3), Francis Marion University 22 (Colbert, Robin 6). Total
fouls--Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. 18, Francis Marion University 19.
Technical fouls--None. A-1143
Homecoming 2011 and Senior Day