AUGUSTA, GA – Rebounding from its worst defeat of the year, and first at home, the 23rd-ranked Francis Marion University women’s basketball squad placed five players in double figures to claim an 87-76 road win at Augusta State University on Wednesday night (Feb. 20) and in the process regained sole possession of first place in the Peach Belt Conference.

The Patriots improve to 19-5 overall and 12-5 in the PBC, while the Lady Jaguars (17-7, 11-6) drop out of the first-place tie.  FMU has a half-game lead over second-place Columbus State University, which plays on Thursday evening.  FMU has three games left to play, two of which are at home beginning with Saturday evening’s 5:30 p.m. tilt with Georgia College & State University.

Junior guard Jennifer Dyer paced FMU with 20 points as she hit 5-of-9 three-pointer attempts.  Senior guard Brittany Young added 16 points, while freshman Shannon Singleton-Bates had 12 and junior Creshenda Singletary 11.  Junior point guard Kevina Ramson scored 10 points and handed out a career-high equaling 13 assists, while grabbing a team-high six rebounds.

Center Porsha White led four ASU players in double digits with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Augusta State took 20-9 lead after just seven minutes and led 20-11 when a power outage forced a 15-minute delay.  Once the lights came back on, Francis Marion outscored the Lady Jaguars 37-16 to hold a 48-36 advantage at halftime.  During that scoring stretch, FMU connected on 14 of 22 field goal attempts.

In the second half, Augusta State drew to within 63-59 following a layup by Nicole Mealing with 10:12 left.  Francis Marion would push the margin back to double figures on several occasions before ASU made one final rally. 

A layup by Sonya Jackson trimmed the lead to five (81-76) with 1:21 remaining, but two free throws by Young and a basket by Singletary sealed the Patriots’ win.

Outrebounded by 22 on Monday night, Francis Marion held a 39-36 advantage on the boards against ASU and forced 25 Lady Jaguar turnovers.

2-20-08 5:30 p.m. at Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)
#23 FRANCIS MARION 87, AUGUSTA STATE 76

#23 FRANCIS MARION (19-5, 12-5 PBC)
Dyer, Jennifer 7-11 1-1 20; Young, Brittany 6-11 2-3 16; Singleton-Bates,
Sha 6-10 0-1 12; Singletary,Creshenda 5-10 1-2 11; Ransom, Kevina 4-12 2-3
10; Allen, Ebony 2-6 2-2 7; Ruff, Evelyn 2-3 0-0 4; Dixon, Yasmean 1-5 1-2
3; Morgan, Shaquana 1-3 0-0 2; Grayson, Rita 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 35-73 9-14
87.
AUGUSTA STATE (17-7, 11-6 PBC)
White, Porsha 7-11 0-1 14; Mealing, Nicole 5-10 0-0 11; Godwin, Jasmine 2-10
6-6 10; Parker, Sherika 5-7 0-0 10; Ngulela, Deo 4-6 0-2 8; Jackson, Sonya
3-6 1-2 7; Jarrard, Brittany 2-5 0-0 6; Paschal, Tracey 2-5 2-4 6; Wells,
Adah 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 32-62 9-15 76.
Halftime: Francis Marion 48 Augusta State 36
3-point goals-Francis Marion 8-18 (Dyer, Jennifer 5-9; Young, Brittany 2-3;
Allen, Ebony 1-1; Ransom, Kevina 0-1; Morgan, Shaquana 0-1; Grayson, Rita
0-1; Singletary,Creshenda 0-1; Singleton-Bates, Sha 0-1), Augusta State 3-11
(Jarrard, Brittany 2-3; Mealing, Nicole 1-5; Jackson, Sonya 0-1; Godwin,
Jasmine 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Augusta State-None.
Rebounds-Francis Marion 39 (Ransom, Kevina 6), Augusta State 36 (White,
Porsha 9). Assists-Francis Marion 16 (Ransom, Kevina 13), Augusta State 22
(Ngulela, Deo 6). Total fouls-Francis Marion 19, Augusta State 15. A-545