GREENWOOD, S.C. – Senior center LaWanna Leon tallied 31 points and 20 rebounds and after two overtimes the Cinderella slipper ended up being a perfect fit for fifth-seeded Georgia College & State University as the Lady Bobcats took a thrilling 89-83 win over sixth-seeded Francis Marion University, Sunday afternoon (March 5) in the championship game of the 2006 Peach Belt Conference women's basketball tournament.
The game featured 26 lead changes and 18 ties, and marked the first time that the title contest has been decided in two extra sessions. GC&SU (17-13) earns the PBC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament set to begin this coming week. Francis Marion, which was making its first championship game appearance since 1998, ends its season at 13-16.
Leon, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, gave the Lady Bobcats the lead for good, draining her first three-pointer of the season with 2:43 remaining in the second overtime. Her 20 rebounds tied the tournament single-game record.
Senior forward Danielle Moore paced FMU with 31 points, nine rebounds, six steals, and three blocked shots. Her point total was one shy of her career high set in Thursday’s quarterfinal win. Patriot sophomore point guard Brittany Young recorded career-highs of 20 points and 12 assists. Both Moore and Young played the entire 50 minutes and were named to the All-Tournament Team. Sophomore forward Shonelle Downer added 11 points and nine rebounds.
In the second overtime, Leon’s three-pointer put the Lady Bobcats up 82-79. After the teams traded layups, two Young free throws brought FMU to within 84-83 with 1:19 left. Guard Lindsey Smith converted a three-point play to give GC&SU an 87-83 lead. FMU missed two jumpers before Ashley Williams hit 1-of-2 free throws to give GC&SU an insurmountable 88-83 margin.
After both teams got off to a slow start in the first half, GC&SU heated up first, running out to a five-point advantage at 17-12 on a jumper by Leon with nine minutes remaining before halftime.
Francis Marion answered with a 14-2 run over the next five minutes and took a 26-19 lead following a jumper by Downer with 3:36 remaining.
The Lady Bobcats then closed the half with a 10-0 spurt to claim a 29-26 advantage at intermission.
GC&SU took a four-point lead, 32-28, in the early minutes of the second half on a three-pointer by Christina Royster only to have Moore answer with five straight points to give FMU a 33-28 with 18:13 remaining. The lead swapped hands several times over the next 10 minutes with neither team leading by more than two points until GC&SU ran out to a four-point lead, 49-45, with 7:55 remaining on a basket by Williams.
A jumper by Young gave FMU a 60-58 lead with 2:16 left, but Leon responded with a jumper to tie the score at 60-60.
Both GC&SU and Francis Marion had big plays in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime. With the clock winding down under 15 seconds, a driving move along the baseline by Smith led to a Francis Marion foul, leading to a couple of free throws with nine seconds remaining that gave the Lady Bobcats a 66-64 lead.
After a 30-second timeout, the Patriots’ Young flew the length of the court and sliced through the Lady Bobcats defense for a layup, tying the score at 66-66 with 3.7 ticks left. Smith tried to duplicate Young’s move, but her layup rolled off the rim at the buzzer.
In the first overtime, GC&SU led much of the period until Francis Marion rallied in the final 1:27 with three straight points. Young hit 1-of-2 free throws with three seconds remaining to knot the score at 77-77. The Lady Bobcats’ Smith raced down the court for a desperation three-pointer from half-court that banged off the shot clock on top of the backboard and into the basket, but by rule the ball becomes dead when it comes into contact with the clock.
Behind Leon’s 31 points, Smith finished with 18 points and four steals, while Cassie Miliner, who was also named to the All-Tournament team, had 14 points and four steals.
Clayton State University’s Shelcey Harp and USC Upstate’s Yakeeshia Ross were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
GC&SU helped itself by draining 25-of-29 free throws. Francis Marion shot 50 percent (32-of-64) from the floor compared to 39 percent (29-of-75) for GC&SU. The Lady Bobcats had a 21-10 advantage on the offensive boards, which led to the shot differential.
“I am proud of my team,” said FMU head coach Valecia Tedder. “We played hard. For a young team in their first championship game, we stayed poised and didn’t get rattled. It was a great tournament experience.
“We knew coming in that it would be a battle of the offensive glass. We did a good job of forcing them to take a tough first shot, but then they would get an offensive rebound. Their second-chance points (20) were a huge difference.
3-5-06 2:00 pm at Horne Arena, Greenwood, SC
GEORGIA COLLEGE 89, FRANCIS MARION 83
FRANCIS MARION (13-16)
Moore, Danielle 13-18 4-6 31; Young, Brittany 6-10 7-8 20; Downer, Shonelle
5-11 1-4 11; Mack, Shavone 4-11 0-0 8; Marsh, Kirby 2-5 0-0 6; Kiefer,
Katherine 1-7 2-2 5; Guilliams, Renee 1-2 0-0 2; Preal, Shaketa 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 32-64 14-20 83.
GEORGIA COLLEGE (17-13)
Leon, LaWanna 12-32 6-6 31; Smith, Lindsey 5-8 8-9 18; Miliner, Cassie 3-6
8-10 14; Royster, Christina 2-5 2-2 8; Williams, Ashley 3-7 1-2 7; Powers,
Jessica 1-6 0-0 3; Lomax, Amanda 1-4 0-0 3; Chapman, Savanna 1-3 0-0 3;
Dawson, Shanice 1-2 0-0 2; Brantley, Tiauna 0-2 0-0 0; Holsendolph, Brandy
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-75 25-29 89.
Halftime-GC&SU 29 Francis Marion 26. Regulation 66-66. First OT 77-77.
3-point goals-Francis Marion 5-10 (Marsh 2-3; Young 1-2; Kiefer 1-2; Moore 1-1;
Guilliams 0-1; Downer 0-1), GC&SU 6-20 (Royster 2-4; Powers 1-4; Chapman 1-3;
Leon 1-1; Lomax 1-4; Dawson 0-1; Williams 0-2; Miliner 0-1). Fouled out--Marsh.
Rebounds-Francis Marion 36 (Downer 9; Moore 9), GC&SU 46 (Leon 20). Assists-
Francis Marion 23 (Young 12), GC&SU 14 (Smith 8). Total fouls-Francis Marion
22, GC&SU 18. A-212
