Francis Marion University athletic officials have announced that two former women's basketball players who donned the Patriot red, white, and blue in the late 1990's - Chiffonia "Precious" Adderson and Jennifer Brabson - will be the newest inductees into the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
Fittingly, the two will be enshrined together. As members of the FMU hoops team between 1996 and 2000, they helped lead the Patriots to a 103-22 record, the 1998 Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship, the 1999 PBC regular-season title, and four trips to the NCAA Division II national tournament, including three trips to the Sweet 16 (1998, 1999, 2000) and one appearance in the Final Four (1998). Playing for head coach Wes Moore, the two became the first cagers in Peach Belt history to earn All-Conference honors all four years.
Brabson, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., returned home after her playing career and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee in 2002. She is currently employed by ESPN and ABC Sports as a marketing coordinator for sponsorship management and lives in New York City.
A four-year starter, the 5-8 forward ended her career 20th on the all-time Division II scoring list with 2,217 points. At FMU, she still ranks fourth in scoring, 12th in steals (200), 13th in rebounding (758), and 18th in assists (219). She finished her playing days owning 11 school records and six Peach Belt marks, including the conference's all-time scoring record. She holds the Patriot career marks for three-pointers made (182) and attempted (501), free throws made (705), and free throw percentage (78.3 %). Amazingly, she averaged nearly six free throws made per game for her entire 124-game career, while attempting 900 charity tosses.
Statistically, her best season may have been her freshman year, when she averaged 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while setting a conference record for points scored by a freshman (526). She averaged 18.8 ppg and 5.7 rpg, while making 223 of 260 free throws, as a senior.
She was selected as the PBC's Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and earned All-America recognition in 1999 and 2000. When the Patriots advanced to the Final Four in 1998, she was chosen to the NCAA Elite Eight All-Tournament Team, and she was an NCAA regional All-Tournament team selection in 1999 and 2000. She twice was named the FMU team MVP (1999, 2000), was a two-time pick for the PBC All-Tournament Team (1999, 2000), and was a first-team Daktronics All-Region choice three times (1998, 1999, 2000).
During her days at Francis Marion, Brabson was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.
The two join 28 current members in the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame, which was formed in 1991.
