MURFREESBORO, NC – Francis Marion University sophomore forward Lauryn Taylor scored a career-high 26 points, but Chowan University scored 12 of the final 15 points in overtime to grab an 86-77 victory over the Patriots, Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 15) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion will play its final contest before the Christmas holidays on Saturday with a 2 p.m. tip-off at Southern Wesleyan University.  The next home game for FMU will be Jan. 4 against Belmont Abbey College at 5:30 p.m.
 
Taylor tallied her point total on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor and a perfect 9-of-9 performance at the foul line, while hauling down nine rebounds.  Freshman Jada Richards scored a career-high 13 points, her third double-figure effort of the young season, while also registering five rebounds and four steals.  Sophomore point guard Aniyah Oliver, the conference's assists leader, also scored a career-high equaling 13 points and handed out six assists.
 
Freshman Kiana Lee came off the Patriot bench to chip in seven points, while 6-1 junior center Jasmine Stanley added six points and a team-high 11 rebounds and junior guard Scarlett Gilmore had six points and six assists.
 
Destiny Robinson led Chowan (4-4, 4-2) with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while guard Demetria Bland scored 17 points with six steals.
 
After the two squads traded buckets to open the overtime session, Chowan scored eight straight points to assume an 82-74 margin.  Taylor converted a three-point play to trim the deficit to 82-77, but the Hawks sealed the decision with four free throws in the final 38 seconds.
 
Francis Marion connected on 40.0 percent of its field goal attempts and was 23-of-28 at the foul line, while Chowan shot 40.8 percent from the floor and was 19-of-26 on charity tosses.
 
After trailing 17-14 at the end of the first period, FMU opened the second quarter with a 13-6 run to claim a 27-23 advantage following a lay-in by Taylor.  The Patriot lead would be 30-27 when Lee made one of two free throws with 3:19 left before halftime.  The Hawks then responded with 11 consecutive points and would hold a 39-34 lead at intermission.
 
The Patriots came out of the locker room and produced an 11-4 run to take a 45-43 lead after a right-side three-pointer by Taylor.  Two free throws by Lee left FMU up 47-45 before Chowan closed the quarter with a 10-4 spurt to go on top 55-51.
 
The Hawks led by as many as six in the fourth quarter, but an 18-foot jumper by Richards with 1:23 left knotted the score at 68-68.  A pull-up jumper by Bland gave Chowan a two-point lead but Oliver again tied the contest (70-70) with two free throws with 19.7 seconds remaining.
 
A lay-in by Robinson with six seconds left put the Hawks up 72-70, but Oliver forced overtime with a 15-foot pull-up jumper at the free throw line with one-tenth of a second left in regulation.
 
12/15/21 2:00 pm at Murfreesboro, NC
CHOWAN 86, FRANCIS MARION 77 OT
FRANCIS MARION (3-5,2-4 Conferen)
Lauryn Taylor 8-14 9-9 26; Jada Richards 6-12 0-3 13; Aniyah Oliver 3-10 7-8
13; Kiana Lee 2-4 3-4 7; Scarlett Gilmore 1-11 4-4 6; Jasmine Stanley 3-6
0-0 6; Jasmyne May 2-4 0-0 4; Ke'Onna Bryant 1-1 0-0 2; Janiyah Hagood 0-1
0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 23-28 77.
CHOWAN (4-4,4-2 Conferen)
Destiny Robinson 8-18 3-6 19; Demetria Bland 5-11 4-6 17; Monique Jones 5-9
4-5 14; Keibra Hopkins 4-8 0-0 10; Olivia Gaither 4-11 2-3 10; Jahkeria
Bagby 3-5 2-2 8; Aniah Patterson 2-7 4-4 8; Emaree Hinton 0-0 0-0 0;
Shequana Jackson 0-3 0-0 0; Tyaysia Sharpe 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 31-76 19-26 86.
Francis Marion................ 14   20   17   21    5  -   77
Chowan........................   17   22   16   17   14  -   86
3-point goals--Francis Marion 2-16 (Lauryn Taylor 1-3; Jada Richards 1-5;
Scarlett Gilmore 0-3; Jasmyne May 0-1; MiLeia Owens 0-1; Aniyah Oliver 0-3),
Chowan 5-16 (Demetria Bland 3-7; Keibra Hopkins 2-3; Olivia Gaither 0-3;
Aniah Patterson 0-2; Tyaysia Sharpe 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None,
Chowan-Destiny Robinson; Monique Jones. Rebounds--Francis Marion 40 (Jasmine
Stanley 11), Chowan 51 (Monique Jones 14). Assists--Francis Marion 17
(Scarlett Gilmore 6; Aniyah Oliver 6), Chowan 17 (Aniah Patterson 5; Olivia
Gaither 5). Total fouls--FMU 22, Chowan 21. Technical fouls--None. A-57