FLORENCE, S.C. – The Francis Marion University women’s basketball team learned late Sunday night that it has earned a bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament, and that the Patriots will serve as the host for the eight-team South Atlantic Regional on Friday, Saturday, and Monday (March 14, 15, 17).

The 64-team field announced on Sunday night included 21 automatic qualifiers and 43 at-large selections. Winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to Kearney, Neb., for the Elite Eight on March 26, 27 and 29.

Francis Marion, which shared the Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship and lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament, owns a 21-8 record and is seeded sixth in the regional. Under the direction of first-year head coach Heather Macy, the team has achieved one of the most dramatic turn-arounds in NCAA Division II, going from a 6-22 mark last year to a national tournament participant this season.

In addition to FMU, the other teams in the South Atlantic Regional are No. 1 seed Wingate University (23-7), No. 2 seed Tusculum College (26-4), No. 3 seed Clayton State University (18-10), No. 4 seed Shaw University (21-11), No. 5 seed Augusta State University (19-9), No. 7 seed Lander University (22-11), and No.8 seed Johnson C. Smith University (21-9).

Four first-round games will be played on Friday (March 14) at 1, 3, 6, and 8 p.m. The semifinals will be played on Saturday (March 15) at 6 and 8 p.m., with the championship game set for Monday (March 17) at 7 p.m.

Friday’s slate has Augusta State playing Shaw at 1 p.m., Wingate meeting Johnson C. Smith at 3 p.m., FMU playing Clayton State at 6 p.m., and Tusculum taking on Lander in the nightcap at 8 p.m.

The 1 and 3 p.m. winners will meet in Saturday’s first semifinal game at 6 p.m., with Friday’s 6 and 8 p.m. winners playing in the second semifinal on Saturday at 8 p.m. 

FMU owns a 5-3 record against the other teams in the regional, including a season split with Clayton State – where each team won on the other’s home floor.

This will be Francis Marion’s sixth invitation to the Division II Tournament since moving to NCAA affiliation in 1992. The Patriots earned invitations for five consecutive years between 1997 and 2001, reaching the round of Sweet Sixteen in four straight years (1998-2001) and making the 1998 Final Four. This will mark the third time Francis Marion has hosted the regional, following 1998 and 1999. 

Senior guard Brittany Young, a 2008 All-Peach Belt Conference selection, leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game, followed by junior guard Jennifer Dyer (11.6 ppg), junior forward Creshenda Singletary (10.2 ppg), and four players averaging between 9 and 9.9 ppg. FMU leads Division II in scoring offense (90.0 ppg) and steals per game (18.4 per game).

Patriot point guard Kevina Ransom, who was named to last weekend’s PBC Tournament All-Tournament Team, leads Division II in steals, averaging 4.6 per game.

Macy was named the PBC’s “Coach of the Year” for 2008.

The three automatic berths in the South Atlantic Region were secured by Wingate (winner of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament), Shaw (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament champion), and Lander (Peach Belt Conference Tournament winner).