With the road win, FMU takes over sole possession of first place in the PBC with a 7-2 mark, while improving to 14-2 overall.  The Lady Bearcats (13-7, 7-3) fall out of the top spot, one-half game behind the Patriots.

The battle for first place more than lived up to its expected offensive output. Francis Marion entered the contest as the nation’s top scoring team (94.5 points per game), while Lander ranked second (88.6 ppg).  The combined total of 216 points set new school and Peach Belt records, surpassing the FMU record of 212 – set in a 109-103 loss to Claflin College in 1988 – and the PBC-game mark of 204 – set in Lander's 107-97 victory at Georgia College & State University earlier this season.

Young scored 15 of her points in the second half as Francis Marion rallied from a 56-49 halftime deficit.  She becomes the 24th Patriots to surpass 1,000-career points and now has 1,014.  Young hit on 11 of 12 free throw attempts, including six of six in the final 1:12 of the contest.

Freshman Shannon Singleton-Bates followed with 19 points and eight rebounds, while junior center Ebony Allen tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, Yasmean Dixon 16 points and seven rebounds, and Jennifer Dyer added 10 points (all coming in the second half).  Point guard Shaquana Morgan handed out a career-high 10 assists while scoring nine points.

Lander's Tiara Good led all scorers with 33 points, making 12 of 22 shots from the floor and nine of 10 free throws. LaShonda Chiles added 20 points, Stephanie Ponds scored 16 points, and South Florence High School product Shannon McKever added 13 points.

With both teams shooting better than 50 percent from the field – Francis Marion at 53.8 percent and Lander at 51.4 percent – the Patriots won the game at the foul line.  FMU drained 25 of 30 attempts, while the Lady Bearcats managed only 26 of 40.

Lander shredded the Patriots for 60.5 percent shooting in the opening half en route to the 56-49 halftime lead.  The Lady Bearcats scored more points in the first half than they did in their entire game last Saturday.

Good hit three free throws after getting fouled behind the arc and added a jumper to give Lander its biggest of the game at 63-51 early in the second half, completing a 12-2 run dating back to late in the first half.

Francis Marion responded with a 26-11 run to take its first lead of the game. Dyer's layup with 12:55 left gave the Patriots a 75-74 lead and she scored again for a 77-74 advantage. Good hit two free throws to put Lander back on top, 78-77, at the 11:55 mark. But Francis Marion answered with an 8-2 run for an 85-80 advantage.

Good's layup pulled Lander into an 88-88 tie with 7:10 to go. The Patriots scored the next four points before Ponds converted a three-point play and Tierra Kirkland hit a free throw to tie the game at 92 with 4:12 left. Allen's two free throws gave Francis Marion a 94-92 lead at the 4:02 mark and Morgan's put-back basket made it 96-93 with 3:22 left.

Good's lay-up pulled the Lady Bearcats within 96-95 with 3:10 remaining, but Dyer hit two free throws and Dixon added another pair to push Francis Marion's lead to 100-95 at the 2:56 mark. After a Lander free throw, a layup by Morgan started a 7-0 FMU spurt that produced a 107-96 lead with 1:12 left.

Chiles hit a layup with 1:02 to go as the teams surpassed the PBC record for points in a game. Good hit a layup with 41 seconds left as Lander joined Francis Marion over the century mark, trailing 109-101. Dyer answered with a layup to give the Patriots a double-figure lead again as they closed out the 10-point victory.

Lander led throughout the opening stanza, but the lead stayed in single figures. Lander twice led by as many as nine. Wilson High School product TaSheba Butler's two free throws gave the Lady Bearcats a 17-8 lead at the 15:25 mark. Francis Marion got within four points twice, but Lander went back up by nine, 34-25, on a basket by Ponds with 8:35 left.

Francis Marion closed within 36-33 with 6:56 remaining on Dixon's jumper. Dixon scored again at the three-minute mark and the Patriots were within one, 44-43. Dixon's sixth basket of the first half pulled Francis Marion to within 51-49. But the Lady Bearcats closed the half with the final five points with Kianna Smith hitting two free throws and Chiles hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Francis Marion returns home to entertain North Georgia College & State University on Take A Kid to the Game (TAKG) Day, Saturday at 2 p.m.  Admission for kids, 12-and-under, will be free, and a parent can get in for just one dollar.  The SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) Club from Moore Intermediate School will perform a routine at halftime of the men’s game that day.