PBC Tournament - Lander Upsets Top-Seeded Francis Marion

AIKEN, S.C. – Lander upset 14th-ranked and No. 1 seed Francis Marion 70-63 Saturday afternoon in the first Peach Belt Conference Tournament women’s semifinal at the USCA Convocation Center.

With the win, the fifth-seeded Lady Bearcats improved to 19-10 overall and advanced to Sunday’s PBC Tournament Championship game at 2:00 p.m. They will face the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between Clayton State and tourney host USC Aiken. The victory lifted Lander to 3-0 all-time vs. FMU in league tourney history.

Lander freshman guard Jasmine Judge netted a game-high 16 points and Mukia Myrick tallied 15 points, five assists and five steals. Shannon McKeever booked her 12th double-double, registering 12 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. PBC Freshman-of-the-Year Ciara Lyons added 10 points and six rebounds.

Shana Franks and Kevina Ransom paced Francis Marion (25-4) with 12 points each, while Shannon Singleton-Bates and Creshenda Singletary managed 11 each.

The 2008 PBC Tourney champions, Lander never trailed, jumping out to a 36-25 halftime lead. The Lady Bearcats limited FMU to a single field goal over a span of 8:10 and took advantage of the Patriots’ 22.6 percent shooting in the game’s opening 20 minutes. Lander used a 15-4 spurt over a span of 5:49 midway through the half, building a 28-14 advantage on a McKever jumper at the 6:35 mark.

After four free throws from Singleton-Bates and Dominique Powell got FMU within 28-18, Lander answered with five straight points. A trey from Judge gave the Lady Bearcats their biggest lead of the half at 33-18 with 3:44 left. The Patriots countered with six straight before Judge drained a trey with 19 seconds left to give LU its 11-point lead at intermission.

Lander opened the second half on a 10-2 run and moved out to a 46-27 lead on a Lyons’ layup at the 16:49 mark. The Lady Bearcats maintained their double-digit lead until Singletary’s jumper at the 6:46 mark pulled the Patriots within 56-48.

Lander pushed its advantage back to 11 before FMU countered with consecutive baskets by Franks and Robin Colbert to cut its deficit to seven with 3:46 remaining. The Patriots pulled as close as six on two occasions, the last on a pair of free throws from Singleton-Bates.

The Lady Bearcats, who will be making their fifth tournament championship game appearance, drained seven free throws – four by Robbins -- over the final 1:06 to seal the victory.

Boxscore

Lander vs. Francis Marion Women – Quotes

Francis Marion head coach Heather Macy:
“Francis Marion beat Francis Marion today. We didn’t play near to our capability, and we still made it a game down the stretch. I’m proud of the kids for not quitting and playing like a team who wasn’t ready for their season to be over.”

“When shots weren’t going down that we normally make, it’s very difficult for us to stay in rhythm and into our press. I thought we bounced back in the second half, and I’m proud of their character.”

Lander head coach Kevin Pederson:
“It’s a tremendous win for this program. There weren’t any expectations for this team, so we had to control what we could control and find out how good we could be. I cannot put into words how proud I am of this team. They have come to play each of the last two games, and I hope we have one more win in us tomorrow.”

“I was shocked when we had that many turnovers at halftime. I thought we did a good job at controlling the pace. But they had only two assists to 14 turnovers at halftime, so we did well at winning that battle.”

“We’re just so proud of our team and the experiencing what they are gaining here. About 70 percent of these ladies are playing in their first Peach Belt Conference Tournament.”

“We really didn’t want it to above 80. Their game is just running up and down, to where we can play halfcourt or run. We’re capable of attacking in transition, but we wanted to make them guard us for 25 seconds.”

Freshman guard Jasmine Judge:
“I was worried about playing well the first five minutes of the second half and playing good defense.”

Sophomore center Shannon McKeever:
“All of us have heart and want to win. Last year, we had three seniors leading us. Now, I have to set good examples for the freshmen to follow from behind.”