Franks’ 23 points help FMU Women down UNCP 81-59

By Michael G. Hawkins

FLORENCE, SC — Junior guard Shana Franks scored 23 points to lead four Patriots in double figures as Francis Marion University methodically beat UNC Pembroke 81-59, Wednesday evening (Jan. 14) in Peach Belt Conference women’s basketball action.

Francis Marion improved to 11-1 overall and moved into a third-place tie in the PBC with a 4-1 conference mark.

Franks, who tallied 13 of her points in the opening half, connected on 9-of-17 shots for the game and also recorded four steals in only 25 minutes of action.

Sophomore forward Shannon Singleton-Bates followed Franks with 13 points, while sophomore guard Robin Colbert and senior guard Jennifer Dyer each added 10 points. Colbert also handed out five assists and came up with nine steals, the eighth-highest single-game total in team history.

Freshman guard Dede Cotton came off the UNCP bench to lead the Braves (6-7, 2-4) with eight points, while sophomore post player JaToya Kemp added seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds

Francis Marion scored the game’s opening eight points and looked to be on its way to an easy win, but UNCP answered with a 9-2 spurt to trim the lead to one point at the first media timeout. Although FMU never trailed in the contest, it took a Singleton-Bates three-pointer with 19 seconds left in the first half to push the Patriot margin to 42-34 at halftime.

A three-point play by Franks at the 17:04 mark upped the FMU advantage to 47-36 and the margin would never dip under double digits for the remainder of the game. A layup by Kemp kept UNCP within 13 points (54-41) with 14:21 left, but Francis Marion scored the next 11 points, with points coming from five different players, to open a 65-41 lead. FMU’s largest lead was 28 points on two occasions (75-47 and 77-49) in the final four minutes.

Again, Francis Marion held a large advantage in points off turnovers (46-14) as the Patriots forced 36 Braves miscues.

Francis Marion shot 36.5 percent from the floor and was 23-of-30 at the foul line, while holding UNCP to 32.8 percent shooting. The Braves managed only 12-of-22 at the stripe.

FMU will play host to Georgia College & State University on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be telecast on channel 11 of Florence’s Time Warner Cable system and broadcast WWFN-FM The Fan 100.1 radio station.