Patriot Women escape past Jaguars 93-90

AUGUSTA, GA — Sophomore guard Robin Colbert drained two clutch free throws and senior Creshenda Singletary added a clinching layup in the final minute to lift Francis Marion University past Augusta State University 93-90, Wednesday evening (Jan. 21) in Peach Belt Conference women’s basketball action.

Francis Marion retains sole possession of first place in the PBC at 6-1, while upping its overall record to 13-1. The 14-game mark is the best start for the Patriot program since the 1998-99 squad opened 26-1, and the fifth-best all-time.

Junior guard Shana Franks paced the Patriot Women with 19 points and seven rebounds, while senior point guard Kevina Ransom came off the FMU bench to score 18 points. Singletary added 14 points, while also starring in a reserve role.

Forward Nicole Mealing led ASU (4-12, 2-7) with 28 points and 22 rebounds, while forward Tracey Paschal scored 23 points.

Colbert’s two free throws with 1:14 remaining gave FMU a 91-90 advantage. Seconds later, the Patriots forced an ASU turnover with Shannon Singleton-Bates coming away with the steal. That theft led to a layup by Singletary with 50 ticks left that put Francis Marion 93-90.

Again Francis Marion forced an ASU miscue with 38 seconds left, but the Patriots were unable to run out the clock, giving the Jaguars one final opportunity. Eboni Davis’ potential game-tying three-point attempt at the final horn was no good.

Augusta State led by as many as eight points in the opening half, but FMU closed the first stanza with a 10-3 spurt to trim the deficit to 49-48 at intermission.

Francis Marion quickly grabbed the lead on a Danelle Downs layup to open the second half. The Patriots led by six points (66-60) after a Ransom layup with 13:10 left in the game. ASU rallied and knotted the score at 76-76 with 6:42 on the clock. FMU regained the lead as Franks scored on a layup and Eboni Fields connected on a pair of free throws.

A jumper in the lane by Singletary gave FMU an 87-82 advantage at the 4-minute mark. However, ASU again rallied and took a 90-89 lead on two charity tosses by Brittany Torain with 2:22 left. Colbert then put the Patriots back on top with her two shots from the stripe.

Francis Marion held ASU without a field for the final 2:40 of the game.

The FMU bench again contributed mightily with 46 points, while the Patriot defense continued its season-long effort of forcing turnovers by the opposition. ASU committed 33 turnovers which were converted into 30 FMU points.

The Patriots also pushed their record to 33-1 over the past nine seasons when scoring 85 points or more.

FMU will play host to 24th-ranked and second-place Clayton State University on Saturday at 2 p.m.

By Michael G. Hawkins