FLORENCE, SC – Freshman Briana Burgins scored a career-high 27 points and Francis Marion University whittled all but one point off a 21-point first-half deficit, but the Patriots just couldn't get over that final hump and finally succumbed to four-time defending conference champion Clayton State University 76-62, Saturday (Dec. 20) afternoon in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion ends the 2014 portion of its schedule with a 3-7 overall mark and a 1-1 PBC record.  After the Christmas break, FMU will play at Columbus State University on Jan. 3.  The next home game for the Patriots will be a Jan. 5 conference tilt against GRU Augusta at 5:30 p.m.

Burgins connected on 8-of-14 field goal attempts and 11-of-13 free throws.  She also hauled down a team-high seven rebounds and handed out five assists.  Fellow first-year player Khayani Chandler tallied 18 points – one shy of her career high – and recorded four steals.  Junior 5-11 center Alaysia Watts chipped in six points and six rebounds.

Senior Yishica Sims led Clayton State (7-4, 1-1) with 26 points and six assists, while junior Tiayra Green scored 20 points.

The Lakers scored the game's opening basket and quickly opened an 18-7 advantage.  That margin ballooned to 34-13 following a fast-break layup by Green with 5:19 left in the stanza.  The deficit was still 21 points entering the final minute of the half, but Francis Marion scored seven straight – all by Burgins – to trim the margin to 40-26 at halftime.

The FMU rally continued into the second half as a 15-3 spurt further cut the Laker lead to 43-41 after a fast-break jumper by Chandler with 14:02 remaining. A layup by Watts made it a one-point game at 50-49 with 8:19 left.  A minute later, Patriot freshman guard Mariah Johnson made 1-of-2 free throws to again bring FMU to within a single point at 53-52.

However, Francis Marion went five minutes without a bucket and Clayton State used a 17-3 spurt to pull away to a 70-55 lead.

The two squads combined for 61 turnovers, but Clayton State held a 44-16 advantage in points-off-turnovers.

Francis Marion shot 38.2 percent from the floor and was 19-of-26 at the foul line, while the Lakers connected on 50 percent of their field goal attempts, were 9-of-28 from beyond the three-point arc, and hit 7-of-13 charity tosses.  FMU outrebounded the Lakers 40-29.

12-20-14 1:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
CLAYTON STATE UNIV. 76, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 62
CLAYTON STATE UNIV. (7-4, 1-1 PBC)
Yishica Sims 9-21 1-2 26; Tiayra Green 8-14 2-2 20; DaQueena Moore 5-6 1-1
11; Kimberly Sinisterra 4-8 0-3 8; Kenisha Jones-Barret 2-2 0-0 4; Kayla
Pryce 1-8 2-3 4; Tania Boucand 1-1 0-0 2; Ashley Cunningham 0-0 1-2 1.
Totals 30-60 7-13 76.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (3-7, 1-1 PBC)
Briana Burgins 8-14 11-13 27; Khayani Chandler 7-15 3-5 18; Alaysia Watts
1-4 4-4 6; Stephanie Brown 2-5 0-0 4; Camille Dash 1-3 0-0 2; Cy'erra Mills
1-6 0-0 2; De'Ana Turner 1-2 0-2 2; Mariah Johnson 0-4 1-2 1; Danielle Pray
0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 19-26 62.
Halftime: Clayton State 40 Francis Marion 26
3-point goals--Clayton State Univ. 9-28 (Yishica Sims 7-18; Tiayra Green
2-7; Kayla Pryce 0-3), Francis Marion University 1-11 (Khayani Chandler 1-3;
Alaysia Watts 0-1; Cy'erra Mills 0-4; Danielle Pray 0-1; Briana Burgins
0-2). Fouled out--Clayton State Univ.-None, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--Clayton State Univ. 29 (DaQueena Moore 9), Francis Marion
University 40 (Briana Burgins 7). Assists--Clayton State Univ. 21 (Kayla
Pryce 7), Francis Marion University 13 (Briana Burgins 5). Total
fouls--Clayton State 23, Francis Marion 18. Technical fouls--None. A-505