Cold shooting and turnovers doom Patriots in PBC Semifinals

AIKEN, SC – Plagued by cold shooting and 28 turnovers, top-seeded and 14th-ranked Francis Marion University fell to Lander University 70-63, Saturday afternoon (March 7) in the semifinals of the 2009 Peach Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament in Aiken, S.C.

Francis Marion (25-4) must now wait for the NCAA Division II selection committee to make its announcement of the at-large invitations to the national tournament on Sunday night (9 p.m.). Fifth-seeded Lander (19-10) advances to face the Clayton State University/USC Aiken winner in Sunday’s championship game at 2 p.m.

Senior point guard Kevina Ransom and junior guard Shana Franks both scored 12 points to lead Francis Marion. Senior forward Creshenda Singletary and sophomore Shannon Singleton-Bates both added 11 points, with Singletary also hauling down a season-high 11 rebounds.

Freshman guard Jasmine Judge paced Lander with 16 points, including 4-of-9 three-point shooting, while freshman guard Mukia Myrick added 15 points and sophomore center Shannon McKever tallied 12 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocked shots.

FMU forced 28 Lady Bearcat turnovers, but the Patriots also committed 28 miscues, while registering their second-lowest point total and shooting percentage (31.7%) of the season.

The Patriots never led in the contest and were tied only once at 2-2. A three-point play by Ransom kept FMU within three at 13-10, and later a layup by the point guard trimmed the Lander lead to 20-14 with 10:23 left in the first half.

However, FMU then lost its shooting touch, missing 12 straight field goal attempts and 14 of 15 to end the first half as Lander increased its lead to 36-25 at intermission.

A fast-break layup by Ciara Lyons pushed the Lady Bearcat lead to 19 points (46-27) early in the second stanza. Francis Marion then gradually chipped away at the deficit, and after Franks drained a jump shot with 8:26 left, FMU trailed 53-43. A short jump shot by Colbert with 3:46 remaining further cut the margin to 61-54.

The Patriots would have four possessions over the next two minutes to cut the lead to five, but FMU committed three turnovers and missed two shots. A basket by McKever finally pushed the margin to nine (63-54) with 1:35 left.

Despite missing 6-of-12 free throws during the final minute, Lander was able to hang on for the win. McKever protected a six-point lead with 32 ticks left when she blocked a three-point attempt by Colbert.

“Francis Marion beat Francis Marion today,” said FMU head coach Heather Macy. “We didn’t play near to our capability, and we still made it a game down the stretch. I’m proud of the kids for not quitting and playing like a team who wasn’t ready for their season to be over.”

“When shots weren’t going down that we normally make, it’s very difficult for us to stay in rhythm and into our press. I thought we bounced back in the second half, and I’m proud of their character.”