GREENWOOD – No. 3 seed and 20th-ranked Francis Marion built a 28-point lead early in the second half and survived a stunning Newberry College comeback, outlasting the No. 6 seed 103-96 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Friday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Francis Marion improved to 27-4 on the season and will meet Tusculum Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Region semifinals at Horne Arena. Tusculum, the seventh seed, upset No. 2 seed Clayton State Friday.

Newberry ended its season at 21-9.

Newberry quickly cut a 28-point deficit down to seven, using a 27-6 run early in the second half to turn a rout into a thriller. Newberry got as close as five in the final minute. After scoring just 33 points in the first half and being out-rebounded 30-15, Newberry scored 66 points in the second half while out-rebounding the Patriots 30-14.

Senior guard Eboni Fields led Francis Marion with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, senior forward Nicole Mealing added 20 points, and junior guard Shannon Singleton-Bates scored 17 points.

Junior guard Robin Colbert had 13 points, seven assists, and three steals, including a big steal in the final seconds, for Francis Marion. Senior guard Shana Franks added 11 points, giving the Patriots five double-figure scorers. Junior center Danelle Downs led Francis Marion with nine rebounds.

Senior forward Anita Bulcher, junior guard Helen McKinney, junior forward LeeAnn Watson, freshman guard Amy Browne and junior guard Jessica Bearzatto scored 94 of Newberry's 96 points.

Bulcher had a double-double with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and 14 rebounds in her final college game. McKinney scored 21 points, Watson added 19 points including 9-of-9 free throws, Brown scored 18 points, and Bearzatto added 12 points and eight assists.

Already with a dominating 57-33 halftime lead, Fields and Singleton-Bates each scored in the opening minute of the second half to give the Patriots their biggest lead of the game at 28, 61-33, and the rout was seemingly on.

But Newberry responded with its biggest run of the afternoon, outscoring Francs Marion 10-2 with Bulcher scoring inside three times, cutting the deficit to 63-43. That would be just the beginning of the 27-6 run that eventually cut Newberry's deficit from 28 to seven.

Fields hit a 3-pointer to give the Patriots a 66-43 lead. But Newberry kept the rally going, scoring nine unanswered points to close within 66-52 at the 13:18 mark when Bearzatto drove the length of the court for a lay-up. At that point, Newberry had out-scored Francis Marion 19-2.

After the Patriots hit one free throw, Newberry's Watson, Bulcher and Browne hit two free throws apiece to cut the gap to single digits, 67-58, for the first time since early in the game. Watson's put-back pulled Newberry within seven points, 67-60, with 11:36 to go to complete the 27-6 run. But it would be a close game the rest of the way.

Francis Marion finally responded with Mealing and Fields scoring during a 5-0 run for a 72-60 lead. But McKinney hit a basket and 3-pointer to pull Newberry back within seven, 72-65, at the 10-minute mark.

The teams began trading baskets over the next several minutes as the Patriots came back to life. Francis Marion twice built its lead back to 12, with Colbert's lay-up at the seven-minute mark making it 85-73. But Newberry got back within single digits again, with Bulcher's basket pulling her team within 85-77 with 6:21 to go.

Mealing's long 3-pointer just inside the five-minute mark gave Francis Marion a 90-79 lead, and Downs made a key offensive rebound that led to another Mealing basket for a 92-81 advantage under the four-minute mark. But Newberry wouldn't go away, closing within nine on another Bulcher basket inside.

Fields hit a contested 3-pointer for a 97-84 lead with 2:43 to go and the game was seemingly in hand. But Newberry scored six unanswered points, pulling within 97-90 with 1:10 left when Browne made two free throws.

The Patriots needed some big plays in the final minute to finally secure the win. The first came when they ran the shot clock down, with Mealing hitting a jumper from the left side to make it 99-90 with 47 seconds left. But Browne scored immediately on the other end and after a Francis Marion free throw, Bearzatto drove in for a short jumper to pull Newberry within six points, 100-94, with 31 seconds to go.

The Patriots immediately turned the ball over underneath their own basket, but Colbert stole the ball back just a few seconds later, was fouled, and hit a free throw for a 101-94 lead with 23 seconds left. Bearzatto's put-back closed Newberry within five, 101-96, with 14 seconds to go. But Franks clinched the victory with a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left.

Francis Marion got off to a fast start after Newberry's Watson scored on a lay-up in the opening seconds. The Patriots scored the game's next 10 points for a 10-2 lead, with two baskets set up by Franks' steals. Her steal and fast-break lay-up gave Francis Marion a 6-2 lead and teammate Courtney Mealing scored off another of her steals to make it 10-2 at the 16-minute mark.

Newberry ended its scoring drought when Watson hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 10-4. But Colbert scored inside, and then got a steal and assisted a Fields basket to give the Patriots their first double-digit lead at 14-4.

Browne's 3-pointer pulled Newberry within 16-9 at the 14-minute mark. But Francis Marion began to pull away again, using a 13-2 run to build a 29-11 advantage including two 3-pointers by Fields and one by Singleton-Bates.

Fields' third 3-pointer of the half gave the Patriots their largest lead of the game at 19 points, 32-13, just inside the 10-minute mark.

Watson's three-point play pulled Newberry within 14 points, 36-22, with 7:52 to go. But Singleton-Bates made a fast-break bucket and Precious Tucker scored inside to push Francis Marion's lead to 40-22.

Newberry twice pulled within 15 on Browne's 3-pointer and McKinney's fast-break basket, making it 42-27. But the Patriots responded again, scoring the game's next five points to stretch their lead to 20 for the first time at 47-27 when Mealing hit a 3-pointer at the three-minute mark.

Mealing hit another trey, the team's sixth of the half, to build the lead to 23 points, 52-29, with 1:49 left. Monica Mann's fast-break basket gave Francis Marion a 57-33 halftime lead.

For the game, Francis Marion made 37 of 74 shots from the floor (50 percent), 20 of 28 free throws (71 percent), and nine of 20 from 3-point range (45 percent).

Newberry hit 35 of 75 shots from the floor (47 percent), 23 of 33 free throws (70 percent), and three of 10 from behind the arc (30 percent). And after getting dominated on the boards in the first half, Newberry finished the game with an overall 45-44 edge on the boards.

Newberry vs. Francis Marion – Quotes

Francis Marion Head Coach Heather Macy

“I’m very pleased with our team’s response once Newberry went on that big run. We showed great resolve, hit some huge shots and we are very pleased to be playing another

“Newberry is a very good basketball team. We knew that they were going to make a run. They made a couple of big shots and we allowed our misses to get us down, and we didn’t buckle down defensively like we needed to do.”

“I just cannot say enough about the resolve of this group and the way they keep coming. At this stage, everyone has good basketball teams and you have to play a complete 40 minutes.”

Francis Marion’s Nicole Mealing

“We played as well as possible in the first half – very pleased at that. We just cannot come out in the second half strong and then just lay off. We have to play like sharks.”

Newberry Head Coach Sean Page

“Obviously disappointed we didn’t win the game. They physically stuck it too us early and man-handled us. We knew that was going to happen. To our credit, we played a real good second half, but it’s hard when you get yourself down by 24 points at halftime.”

 “We really challenged them at halftime. Sometimes you need to challenge their heart and character to see how they would respond. You cannot knock the effort and the heart, the character and the resiliency of these kids.”

Newberry’s Anita Bulcher
“I’m disappointed that we lost, but I can be proud of myself and my team for coming back and fighting hard. At least to go out knowing that we worked hard makes it better. We did not have to hang our heads when we walked off the court.”