Patriot Women out-Mann Bulldogs 90-79

WILSON, NC - Senior point guard Monica Mann scored a career-high equaling 18 points, including five free throws in the final minute, to lead 25th-ranked Francis Marion University to a 90-79 road win over Barton College, Monday evening (Dec. 6) in women's college basketball action.

The Patriots, in the midst of a seven-game road trip, snap a two-game losing skid and improve to 4-2.  FMU will now take a break for exams before returning to action with a road game at Eckerd College on Dec. 17.

Mann came off the Francis Marion bench and also recorded a season high of eight assists and a career-high six rebounds.  Her previous high of 18 points was recorded against Northeastern University in 2008 when she was a member of the Georgia State University squad.

Senior starting point guard Robin Colbert registered her second double-double of the young season with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.  Senior 6-0 center Danelle Downs posted her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.  Sophomore guard Courtney Mealing chipped in 12 points, while junior forward T.T. Belcher added 11 points and six rebounds.

Janette Robinson paced Barton (6-2) with 21 points, while Jamila Johnson tallied 17 points and eight rebounds.

After seven ties and three lead changes during the early going Francis Marion took a 30-28 lead on a jump shot by Colbert with 4:27 left in the first half.  The Patriots led 38-34 at intermission.

A three-pointer by Shannon Singleton-Bates to open the second stanza expanded that margin to 41-34.  However, Barton quickly rallied to go up 48-47 on two free throws by Jolanda Mitchell with 14:08 remaining. A three-point play by Belcher on the ensuing possession put the Patriots ahead for good at 50-48.

A 10-0 run, fueled by two baskets from Mealing, pushed the Patriot lead to 67-54 with 7:56 left. The Bulldogs rallied with a 17-8 spurt to close to within 75-71 with 3:22 on the clock.  From that point on, FMU made all three of its field goal attempts and nine of 10 free throws to seal the victory.

Singleton-Bates scored nine points and in the process passed former 6-3 center Kathy Flaten to move into the 14th spot on the Patriot career scoring list with 1,321 points.

Francis Marion shot 51.6 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes while holding the Bulldogs to 36.8 percent.