#17 Patriots douse Hurricanes 112-68 behind balanced attack

FLORENCE, S.C. – Junior guard Eboni Fields scored 17 points to lead seven Patriots in double figures as 17th-ranked Francis Marion University cruised to a 112-68 Peach Belt Conference victory over Georgia Southwestern State University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7) in women’s basketball action.

Francis Marion equals the third-best start in team history at 19-1, while remaining atop the PBC standings at 12-1 with its 10th consecutive win. The 1997-98 squad also opened 19-1 en route to a 30-3 record and a Final Four appearance. The 10-game streak is the longest since the 1999-2000 team won 11 consecutive contests.

Fields hit on 4-of-9 three-point attempts in only 15 minutes of action. Other double-digit scorers were Robin Colbert 14, Shana Franks 13, Jennifer Dyer 13, Kevina Ransom 13, Creshenda Singletary 10, and Shannon Singleton-Bates 10.

Ransom also handed out 11 assists and with eight steals was only two shy of a triple-double, while only playing 20 minutes. The 5-5 point guard only committed one turnover while directing the Patriot offense.

Junior Brittany Reynolds led Georgia Southwestern (6-15, 1-13) with a game-high 18 points, while connecting on 8-of-11 shots. Senior center Arile Hadley added 10 points, on 4-of-4 shooting, coming off the Lady Hurricanes’ bench.

Dyer nailed three-pointers on the Patriots’ opening two possessions and added a layup on the fourth trip down the court as FMU never trailed. After Georgia Southwestern trimmed the margin to 8-4 on a basket by Nadirah Gardner, FMU scored eight straight points to go up 16-4.

The Patriots would lead by as many as 27 points in the opening half, that coming at 49-22 on a Fields’ three-pointer with 3:28 left. Ransom’s running 40-footer at the halftime horn gave FMU a 57-32 advantage at intermission.

The Patriots shot 20-of-35 in the first half for 57.1 percent and 20-of-36 in the second stanza for 55.6 percent. The Patriots forced 42 turnovers by the Lady Hurricanes and converted them into 41 points.

Francis Marion’s largest lead of the game was 110-62 following two free throws by freshman Tenisha Howze with 2:40 remaining.

The point total was the second-highest ever for Francis Marion in a Peach Belt Conference game.

Francis Marion will travel up I-95 to face local-PBC rival UNC Pembroke on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.