GREENWOOD, S.C.  – Senior forward Danielle Moore scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Francis Marion University used clutch free throw shooting to hold off Lander University for a 66-61 Peach Belt Conference win, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3) at Horne Arena.

Francis Marion improved to 3-2 overall and evened its PBC mark at 1-1, while the Lady Bearcats fell to 3-4 and 0-2.  FMU now leads the all-time series 46-16, the most wins for the Patriots against any one opponent in the 33-year history of the program.

Sophomore forward Creshenda Singletary added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Patriots, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds after Lander had pulled to within 64-61.  Sophomore center Vanessa Goff scored a season-high 10 points, while grabbing a career-high eight rebounds.  FMU outrebounded Lander 52-39.

Bryony Crouch led Lander with 16 points, while Shatora Irby scored 15 points and Shaquanta Glaze added 11 points, including a couple of key baskets down the stretch. Crouch, Irby and Tara Nyikavaranda led the Lady Bearcats with seven rebounds apiece.

In addition to Singletary's two charity tosses, Patriot point guard Brittany Young canned four free throws in the final minute.

The Patriots used a 13-2 run midway through the second half to build a 51-41 lead over the cold-shooting Lady Bearcats. However, Lander's Jennifer Hukill hit a three-pointer and Irby scored to cut the deficit to 53-46 with approximately six minutes to go.

Glaze hit a three-pointer to pull Lander within 56-51 with 4:11 to go, and scored another basket at the 3:21 mark to further close the gap to 56-54. Moore responded with a basket to increase the lead back to four points and Young hit her four free throws to keep Francis Marion ahead.  A basket by Irby pulled the Lady Bearcats to within 63-59 and Crouch added two free throws to close it to 64-61 in the final seconds, but Lander could get no closer.

The Lady Bearcats stayed close despite a poor first half of shooting. Lander missed 18 of its first 21 shots and watched an early 11-4 lead turn into a 15-13 deficit. Irby's two free throws tied the game at 15 with eight minutes left in the half, and Hukill's three-pointer gave the Lady Bearcats a 21-19 lead at the 6:40 mark. Crouch's third three-pointer of the half gave Lander a 30-28 lead with just under two minutes to go.

But behind Moore's 14 first-half points, Francis Marion would take a 31-30 halftime advantage. The Lady Bearcats were 7-for-32 shooting in the first half, but stayed close by making 12-of-16 free throws. The Patriots had a better shooting half making 12-of-27 from the floor, and made five of six free throw attempts. Lander missed its first four shots of the second half to fall below 20 percent for the game before heating up.

For the game, the Lady Bearcats made 18-of-67 from the floor (27 percent), 19-of-29 from the line (66 percent), and 6-of-21 from three-point range (29 percent). Francis Marion hit 23-of-53 from the floor (43 percent), 16-of-26 from the stripe (62 percent) and 4-of-13 from behind the arc (31 percent).

FMU plays host to Wingate University, Monday at 5:30 p.m.
 
12/03/05 2:00 at Horne Arena, Greenwood, SC
At Horne Arena, Greenwood, SC
FRANCIS MARION 66, LANDER 61

FRANCIS MARION (3-2, 1-1 PBC)
Moore, Danielle 9-18 2-3 22; Singletary,Creshenda 6-10 4-6 17; Goff, Vanessa 4-5 2-2 10; Kiefer, Katie 3-5 1-4 7; Guilliams, Renee 1-4 2-2 5; Young, Brittany 0-6 4-6 4; Marsh, Kirby 0-2 1-3 1; Mack, Shavone 0-1 0-0 0; Downer, Shonelle 0-1 0-0 0; Preal, Shaketa 0-1 0-0 0; Etheredge, Courtenay 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 16-26 66.

LANDER (3-4, 0-2 PBC)
Crouch, Bryony 4-14 5-5 16; Irby, Shatora 4-18 7-8 15; Glaze, Shaquanta 4-8 2-4 11; Hukill, Jennifer 2-6 1-2 7; Grooms, Bobby Jo 2-5 2-4 6; Nyikavaranda, Tara 2-9 2-5 6; Williams, Janet 0-1 0-0 0; Ward, Linlei 0-0 0-0 0; Dubose, Lashaundra 0-6 0-1 0. Totals 18-67 19-29 61.

Halftime--Francis Marion 31 Lander  30. 3-point goals-Francis Marion 4-13 (Moore, Danielle 2-3; Guilliams, Renee 1-4; Singletary,Creshenda 1-1; Young, Brittany 0-3; Marsh, Kirby 0-1; Kiefer, Katie 0-1), Lander 6-21 (Crouch, Bryony 3-12; Hukill, Jennifer 2-4; Glaze, Shaquanta 1-1; Irby, Shatora 0-4). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Lander-Glaze, Shaquanta. Rebounds-Francis Marion 52 (Singletary,Creshenda 9; Moore, Danielle 9), Lander 39 (Crouch, Bryony 7; Nyikavaranda, Tara 7; Irby, Shatora 7). Assists-Francis Marion 15 (Moore, Danielle 3; Marsh, Kirby 3; Etheredge, Courtenay 3), Lander 12 (Dubose, Lashaundra 5). Total fouls-Francis Marion 22, Lander 23. A-147