FMU Women’s trio earns All-Peach Belt hoop honors

FLORENCE, S.C. - Francis Marion University senior point guard Kevina Ransom and sophomore guard-forward Shannon Singleton-Bates have been named to the 2009 All-Peach Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Team, while for the second year in a row FMU women’s coach Heather Macy was named the conference’s “Coach of the Year.”

Both Ransom and Singleton-Bates were first-team selections.

Ransom, a native of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., directs the high-powered Patriot attack. She is averaging 9.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She leads the PBC and is third nationally in steals per game (4.4) and is second in the conference with 5.0 assists per game, despite playing only 22.3 minutes per contest. She also ranks fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio, is connecting on 48.6 percent of her field goal attempts (eighth-best in the PBC) and 73.1 percent of her free throws. In only two seasons at FMU, the 5-5 Ransom has climbed to third on the program’s all-time steals list with 266 and is 12th in career assists.

Singleton-Bates, a native of South Norwalk, Conn., is averaging 12.9 points (seventh-best in the PBC) and a team-leading 5.3 rebounds per game. She is third on the team with 13 blocked shots and is shooting 43.6 percent from the floor and 75.3 percent at the free throw line.
Macy, in her second season at Francis Marion, has directed the Patriots to a 24-3 record, a No. 14 national ranking, and the squad’s second consecutive PBC regular-season championship. FMU is the top seed in this week’s conference tournament in Aiken, and will play a quarterfinal game on Thursday at 1 p.m. (against the UNC Pembroke/North Georgia winner).

Francis Marion was picked to finish third in the coaches’ pre-season poll.

Macy’s two-year mark at FMU is 45-12, and her four-year career record is 84-31.

This marks the third time a Patriot coach has earned this award: Macy this season and last season, and Wes Moore in 1996.

Ransom is a product of Northwest Halifax High School, and was an honorable mention All-American at Louisburg College before transferring to FMU.

Singleton-Bates is a product of Norwalk High School, where she played for coach Rick Fuller. She was a two-time first-team All-State selection and a three-time All-Conference and All-Area pick, while scoring more than 1,300 career points.

By Michael G. Hawkins