FMU Women ranked 7th; Hoop teams host Senior Night

FLORENCE, S.C. – The Francis Marion University women’s basketball team moved up four spots to seventh in this week’s USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25. Both FMU basketball teams will celebrate Senior Night when play host to Armstrong Atlantic State University for a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader on Wednesday (Feb. 25).

The women’s game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students.

The women’s contest will be joined in progress at 7 p.m. on WWFN-FM 100.1 The Fan, and the men’s game will be aired in its entirety. Both games will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable’s channel 11 in the Florence area.

The Francis Marion women (24-1, 17-1) have won their last 15 games, fifth-longest streak in team history, and on Saturday clinched the PBC regular season championship – their second in a row and third in team history. FMU will be attempting to complete its fifth-ever perfect home season on Wednesday as the Patriots are 14-0 in the Smith University Center.

The No. 7 ranking is the highest for the program since the Patriots were ranked seventh in the 1999-2000 pre-season poll. Francis Marion even received a first-place vote (one of 28) this week.

Francis Marion defeated AASU 75-61 three weeks ago in Savannah, and leads the all-time series 17-14. AASU (15-10, 10-8) is currently sixth in the conference standings.

Prior to the game, Francis Marion will recognize its six seniors: guards Shaquana Morgan (96 games, 222 pts, 161 rebs, 116 asts, 77 stls), Jennifer Dyer (116 games, 1104 pts, 423 rebs, 262 asts, 284 stls), Kevina Ransom (55 games, 540 pts, 175 rebs, 298 asts, 257 stls), and Evelyn Ruff (44 games, 100 pts, 32 rebs, 22 asts, 20 stls) and forwards Creshenda Singletary (85 games, 970 pts, 410 rebs, 87 asts, 34 blks, 97 stls) and Katherine Kiefer (84 games, 440 pts, 194 rebs, 72 asts, 59 stls). Singletary and Kiefer are four-year letterwinners, while the other four players transferred to FMU prior to the 2007-08 season.

The FMU men (16-9, 9-9), coming off an upset of 25th-ranked GCSU on Saturday, will be looking to sweep the season series from AASU (20-5, 13-5). Earlier this month, the Patriot men beat a then 12th-ranked Pirates squad 74-69 in Savannah. FMU is currently fifth in the PBC standings, while AASU is tied for third.

AASU leads the all-time series 20-14.

The FMU men’s team will honor five seniors prior to the final home contest: guards Crayton Jones (53 games, 276 pts, 207 rebs, 179 asts, 84 stls) and Houston Power (68 games, 516 pts, 166 rebs, 152 asts, 58 stls); center Stanley Jones (91 games, 570 pts, 335 rebs, 56 asts, 48 blks, 32 stls); and forwards Sam Smith (52 games, 525 pts, 219 rebs, 42 asts, 25 stls) and Kevin Clark (102 games, 570 pts, 379 rebs, 119 asts, 69 blks, 48 stls).

FMU will close out its regular season on Saturday afternoon at Clayton State University, before heading to the Peach Belt Tournament next week in Aiken.

By Michael G. Hawkins