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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Patriot trio guides FMU to 90-76 over Lady Cobras

MYRTLE BEACH, SC  – The trio of senior Shannon Singleton-Bates, senior Robin Colbert, and sophomore Courtney Mealing combined for 65 points to carry Francis Marion University to a 90-76 win over Virginia Intermont College, Sunday evening (Dec. 19) in the final game of the Crescent Bank Carolinas Challenge women’s basketball tripleheader.

Francis Marion ends the 2010 portion of its schedule with a 6-2 mark.  The Patriots will return from their Christmas break to play at UNC Pembroke on Jan. 2 at 1:30 p.m.  In the day’s other contests, Butler defeated Coastal Carolina and North Carolina downed South Carolina.

Mealing led FMU with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting.  The 5-8 guard nailed 4-of-9 attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Singleton-Bates tallied 23 points to push her career total to 1,366 points, 31 shy of 12th place on the team’s career scoring list.  She also registered five steals. Colbert tallied 16 points, eight steals, six rebounds, and five assists.

FMU sophomore guard Kristen Dickerson recorded her first career double-figure effort with 10 points, while freshman guard Brittany Christian also scored 10.

Senior forward Haley Odle led VIC (7-7) with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Francis Marion struggled with turnovers over much of the first half and with 3:16 left before halftime FMU trailed 33-27.  However, the Patriots ended the stanza with a 20-4 run to carry a 47-37 lead into the locker room.  Mealing fueled the spurt with eight points.

Virginia Intermont trimmed the margin to 49-41 early in the second half.  A 14-5 run by the Patriots midway through the half expanded FMU’s lead to 20 points at 79-59 with 6:16 remaining.

Several minutes later VIC put together a 13-2 rally that cut the deficit to nine points at 83-74, but a Mealing jumper ended the come-back and FMU held the Lady Cobras without a field goal over the final 3:40.

FMU forced 36 VIC turnovers and converted those miscues into 38 points.  The Patriots also held a 16-4 advantage in fast-break points.

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