(release by FMU SID intern Doug Page)

GREENWOOD, SC – Sophomore guard Khayani Chandler scored a team-high 18 points, but a fourth-quarter rally fell just short for Francis Marion University. The Patriots saved their best offensive effort of the night for the final 10-minute stanza against Lander University, but the Bearcats held off the Patriots by a score of 94-88 on Wednesday night (Jan. 27) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion (16-4, 7-4) saw all five starters and two bench players put together double-digit scoring efforts in a battle of two teams tied for first in the PBC's East Division standings. The Patriots had their best rebounding effort of the season, pulling down 47 boards, compared to 26 for the Bearcats (14-6, 8-3).

FMU returns home to host Georgia College at the Smith University Center on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The contest will be the first of three consecutive home games for the Patriots.  The Patriots will get reacquainted with the Bearcats on next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Chandler, a native of Raleigh, caught fire off of the Patriot bench in the second half to connect on 6-of-7 field goal attempts and 3-of-4 three pointers in just 17 minutes of action. Junior guard Victoria Dye added 14 points, while senior Alaysia Watts recorded another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

FMU freshman Shaunice Fulmore added 13 points, sophomore Briana Burgins 12, junior guard TeTe Flowers 11, and senior guard Camille Dash 10.

Senior guard Bre Crum led all scorers with a career-high 34 points, including 19 in the first quarter for Lander. Crum also dished out a team-high eight assists in 39 minutes of action.

FMU scored the game's first five points and raced out to a 7-2 lead with 7:25 left in the opening quarter, but the Bearcats answered with a 9-3 run to take an 11-10 lead. Trailing 16-14, Chandler would drain a jump shot with 3:13 left to tie the game. Lander would go ahead 19-16 with 2:38 remaining and not look back.

Finding themselves behind 31-20 at the start of the second quarter, the Patriots seemed poised to claw their way back into the game. The Bearcats had other plans though, as they stretched the lead to 15 points midway through the quarter. With 1:41 remaining, Fulmore connected on a three-point shot to cut the Lander lead to 53-35, but Lander held a 60-35 halftime advantage.

The margin was 24 points entering the fourth quarter.  The Patriots used an 8-0 run with just under seven minutes left in the final period to cut the Lander lead to 79-65. FMU used a heavy defensive push to force the Bearcats into a couple of crucial turnovers with just over two minutes in the game. Lander, who at one point held a 27-point lead (68-41), saw its cushion dwindle to two (86-84) after a three-point shot from Chandler with 1:51 left.  However, that was the closest that FMU would get as the Bearcats twice beat the shot-clock buzzer with lay-ins.

FMU's 35 points in the final quarter were a season high for one period. The Patriot bench outscored the Lander reserves 31-22 and FMU held a 26-12 edge in second-chance points.

For the game, Francis Marion shot 40.3 percent from the field, despite hitting just 5-of-17 three-point attempts, and was a perfect 21-of-21 at the foul line.  The latter figure is a school record besting the old single-game mark of 13-for-13 set in 1992 and 2013.

Lander shot 61 percent from the floor, including 5-of-11 from behind the arc, and 17-of-23 from the free throw line.