FLORENCE, SC  – Sophomore forward Janyce Ealey scored 21 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead North Georgia College & State University to a 67-63 road win over cold-shooting Francis Marion University, Wednesday evening (Feb. 9) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion (15-6, 8-5) saw its seven-game winning streak end.  The Patriots will now take to the road for an almost unheard of road trip.  FMU will play at second-ranked Clayton State University on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and at top-ranked Lander University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Senior Shannon Singleton-Bates scored 16 points to lead FMU, while sophomore guard Courtney Mealing tallied 15 points.  Freshman guard Brittany Christian chipped in nine points off the bench with a trio of three-pointers.

Following Ealey, senior guard Meredith Montgomery scored 18 points for the Lady Saints (14-9, 5-7).

Francis Marion raced to an early 12-point margin at 25-13 after a layup by T.T. Belcher.  With 3:23 left in the opening half, the margin was still 10 at 36-26.  However, North Georgia scored nine of the half's final 11 points to draw within 38-35 at intermission.

Another 9-2 spurt to open the second stanza placed the Lady Saints ahead 44-40.  Francis Marion then answered with a 9-0 run to go back ahead and lead 49-44 with 14:04 left.  The Patriot advantage extended to 55-48 following a three-pointer by Christian, but North Georgia rallied to trim the lead to a single point at 57-56 after a fast-break layup by Montgomery with 7:33 on the clock.

Singleton-Bates hit one of two free throws with 1:08 left to tie the game at 63-63.  Lindsey Moss connected on a jumper just outside the lane to put the Lady Saints up 65-63 with 20 ticks left.  On the ensuing possession, Mealing missed a jumper in the paint and after a wild scramble, Ealey grabbed the rebound.  Moss then sealed the win with a pair of throws with 4.8 seconds left.

After shooting 53.6 percent in the opening half, FMU cooled to 20.6 percent over the final 20 minutes, including only 4-of-26 on shots inside the three-point arc. North Georgia shot only 29.2 percent in the second half, but did knock down 18-of-21 free throws in the second stanza.

2-9-11 5:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
NORTH GEORGIA COLL. & STATE U. 67, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 63

NORTH GEORGIA COLL. & STATE U. (14-9 , 5-7 PBC)
Ealey, Janyce 8-16 5-6 21; Montgomery, Meredith 5-8 6-9 18; Moss, Lindsey
3-7 6-6 12; Trice, Jessica 2-7 3-3 8; Manning, Jasmine 2-2 0-0 4; Howard,
Jessica 0-2 3-4 3; Marlow, Tiffany 0-3 1-2 1; McCann, Kari 0-1 0-0 0;
Garmon, Brooke 0-0 0-0 0; O'Neal, Bianca 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 24-30 67.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (15-6 , 8-5 PBC)
Singleton-Bates, Sha 5-16 5-6 16; Mealing, Courtney 6-18 0-0 15; Christian,
Brittany 3-5 0-0 9; Belcher, T.T. 4-10 0-0 8; Colbert, Robin 2-5 2-4 6;
Trice, Simone 1-1 3-3 5; Jones, Hannah 1-2 2-2 4; Bothof, Kendra 0-0 0-0 0;
Williams-Hayes, Jasm 0-0 0-0 0; Dickerson, Kristen 0-0 0-0 0; Mann, Monica
0-1 0-0 0; Downs, Danelle 0-4 0-1 0. Totals 22-62 12-16 63.
Halftime: Francis Marion 38 North Georgia 35
3-point goals--North Georgia Coll. & State U. 3-11 (Montgomery, Meredith
2-4; Trice, Jessica 1-4; O'Neal, Bianca 0-2; Moss, Lindsey 0-1), Francis
Marion University 7-15 (Mealing, Courtney 3-7; Christian, Brittany 3-5;
Singleton-Bates, Sha 1-3). Fouled out--North Georgia Coll. & State U.-None,
Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--North Georgia Coll. & State U. 43
(Ealey, Janyce 18), Francis Marion University 30 (Downs, Danelle 6).
Assists--North Georgia Coll. & State U. 15 (Montgomery, Meredith 4), Francis
Marion University 13 (Colbert, Robin 5). Total fouls--North Georgia Coll. &
State U. 16, Francis Marion University 22. Technical fouls--Downs, Danelle. A-689

Charges drawn: Moss, Marlow, Downs, S.Trice