Patriot Women race from starting blocks for 86-67 win

FLORENCE, SC — Francis Marion University connected on its first four shots of the game, all from beyond the three-point arc, and rode that quick start to an 86-67 win over Georgia College & State University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17), and in the process moved back into first place in the Peach Belt Conference women’s basketball standings.

Francis Marion is now 12-1 overall and 5-1 in the PBC, while GCSU drops to 8-5 and 3-3.

Senior point guard Kevina Ransom came off the Patriot bench to tally a team-high 15 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Senior Creshenda Singletary scored 13 as did junior Shana Franks, while junior Eboni Fields added 12 points and sophomore Shannon Singleton-Bates 10. Singleton-Bates also hauled down a career-high and game-high 11 rebounds.

Senior forward Tiauna Brantley led the Lady Bobcats with 17 points and nine rebounds, while reserve guard Emily Bixler chipped in 11 points.

Francis Marion hit the four three-pointers in the opening 2:16 en route to an early 13-3 lead. GCSU drew to with 15-11 at the 14:42 mark, but FMU answered with a 21-4 run to take a commanding 36-15 advantage. Fields contributed eight points to the spurt, including a pair of three-pointers.

FMU shot 47.6 percent from the floor in the opening half, including 8-of-15 from behind the arc, while holding GCSU to 29.4 percent shooting. Those stats led to perhaps the team’s best half of the season and a 56-29 Patriot lead at intermission.

Although FMU cooled to 34.5 shooting in the final 20 minutes, the margin never dipped below 20 points until the final seconds.

The Francis Marion bench contributed 51 points, including the three reserves in double digits. FMU outrebounded GCSU 57-41.

The Patriots also pushed their record to 32-1 over the past nine seasons when scoring 85 points or more. FMU is 8-0 at home this season.

FMU will play at Augusta State University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., before returning home to host nationally ranked Clayton State University on Jan. 24 at 2 p.m.