Greenwood, S.C. (Feb. 8, 2014) – Chelsea Dukes missed a potential game-tying three pointer with 11 seconds to go, and Francis Marion University fell 74-71 to Lander University Saturday afternoon in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

The Patriots fall to 11-9 overall and 6-8 in PBC play. FMU will continue its three game road trip Thursday night (Feb. 13) when they travel to take on North Georgia at 5:30 p.m.

Dukes led the Patriots with 15 points and four rebounds. Senior forward Dee Gray recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Kim Roach tallied 13 points and seven rebounds.

Lander (9-13, 4-9) was paced by four starters who finished in double-figure scoring. Ty'hesha Reynolds and Portia McRay each tallied 17 points, while McRay had a double-double with 10 rebounds.

The Patriots found themselves down 52-41 with 13:35 to play. However, they would crawl back into the contest, and were in striking distance at 66-60 with 4:29 on the clock. After two free throws from Alexia Bell, FMU was finally able to tie the game at 66-66 with 2:24 to play.   

After three Bearcat free throws, Gray would bring the Patriots back within a point after a driving layup with 1:04 to play. Lander would answer with a jumper with 43 seconds remaining before calling a timeout with a three point lead.

After the timeout, FMU ran the clock down before Dukes got a good look at tying the game, but couldn't get the shot to fall. Lander sealed the game with three final free throws before claiming the three point victory.  

The Bearcats jumped out to a 17-9 lead early, but FMU was able to tie the game at 30-30 with 1:51 before halftime. Lander would finish the half on a 6-2 run and had a 36-32 lead at the half.

FMU held a 43-38 advantage in rebounding, and a 21-11 advantage in second chance points. Lander forced 23 Patriot turnovers and had an advantage of 37-24 in points in the paint. 

2-8-14 1:30 p.m. at Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.
LANDER 74, FRANCIS MARION 71
FRANCIS MARION (11-9, 6-8 PBC)
Chelsea Dukes 6-11 1-2 15; Kim Roach 3-8 7-7 13; Dee Gray 2-8 8-8 12;
Cy'erra Mills 2-7 5-6 9; Lauren Woods 2-4 3-3 7; Alexia Bell 2-5 2-2 6;
Camille Dash 2-5 2-2 6; Erin Pinkett 1-4 0-0 3; Briana Robinson 0-3 0-2 0.
Totals 20-55 28-32 71.
LANDER (9-13, 4-9 PBC)
Ty'hesha Reynolds 7-12 2-6 17; Portia McCray 6-14 5-6 17; Kayla West 4-13
2-2 11; Alyssia Watkins 4-8 2-5 10; Ebonie Hudson 3-8 2-5 8; Alexis
Armstrong 3-7 0-0 7; Zaneta Kubicka 1-3 2-2 4; Sakezia Kelly 0-0 0-0 0;
Ariel Parker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 15-26 74.
Halftime: Lander 36 Francis Marion 32
3-point goals--Francis Marion 3-11 (Chelsea Dukes 2-5; Erin Pinkett 1-4;
Cy'erra Mills 0-1; Lauren Woods 0-1), Lander 3-15 (Alexis Armstrong 1-1;
Kayla West 1-6; Ty'hesha Reynolds 1-4; Ebonie Hudson 0-4). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-None, Lander-Kayla West; Portia McCray.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 43 (Dee Gray 10), Lander 38 (Portia McCray 10).
Assists--Francis Marion 12 (Cy'erra Mills 4; Briana Robinson 4), Lander 13
(Kayla West 5). Total fouls--Francis Marion 21, Lander 24. Technical
fouls--None. A-310