CENTRAL, SC – Reserve freshman forward Kiana Lee helped sparked a 10-2 fourth quarter run as the Francis Marion University bench contributed 26 points to a 70-63 come-from-behind road win over Southern Wesleyan University, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 18) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (4-5, 3-4) will now break for the Christmas holidays before returning to action on Dec. 30 with an exhibition game at NCAA Division I Elon University.  Tip-off is at 7 p.m.  FMU will play host to Belmont Abbey College on Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m.
 
Sophomore forward Lauryn Taylor led the Patriots with 15 points and 11 rebounds – her second double-double in three games and the fifth of her career. 
 
FMU freshman Jada Richards came off the FMU bench to score a career-high 14 points and grab five rebounds, while junior guard Scarlett Gilmore scored 13 and sophomore point guard Aniyah Oliver 11.  Lee tallied eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Shelby Glance led four Warriors (2-6, 2-3) scoring in double figures with 15 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Patriots trailed 53-52 entering the final quarter, but a quick lay-up by Oliver gave FMU a 54-53 advantage.  After the two teams traded buckets, a turn-around jumper by Kayla Garrett put SWU up 57-56.  An inside hoop by Taylor gave Francis Marion the lead for good at 58-57 with 6:50 remaining and started the decisive 10-2 spurt, which resulted in a 66-59 Patriot lead.  Lee contributed a fast-break lay-in and a pull-up jumper in the lane that beat the shot clock.
 
The first half features a series of runs by both squads. SWU opened the game by scoring 11 of the first 13 points.  The advantage would grow to 16-5 after an 18-foot jumper by Brittany Mack with 4:48 left in the first quarter.  Francis Marion responded with a 12-2 run to close the quarter that brought the Patriots to within 18-17.
 
An 18-foot jumper shot by Lee to start the second period gave FMU its first lead at 19-18.  Moments later a three-pointer by Gilmore extended the margin to 22-18.  However, the Warriors answered with a 13-2 spurt that put SWU ahead 31-24 midway through the second quarter.  Again, the Patriots responded by scoring nine of the game's next 11 points to knot the score at 33-33 after a fast-break lay-in by junior center Jasmine Stanley.
 
A bucket by Glance in the final 33 seconds gave Southern Wesleyan a 35-33 edge at halftime. 
 
SWU led by as many as nine in the third period, at 45-36, before a 14-3 outburst by Francis Marion positioned the Patriots with a 50-48 advantage.  A late three-pointer by Sasha Schoenborn helped the Warriors grab the 53-52 edge heading to the final 10 minutes.
 
Francis Marion shot 36.8 percent from the floor and was 15-of-19 at the foul line, while SWU hit 40.3 percent of their field goal attempts and was only 5-of-8 at the stripe.  FMU outrebounded the Warriors 47-40.
 
 
12/18/21 2:00 pm at Central, SC
FRANCIS MARION 70, SOUTHERN WESLEYAN 63
FRANCIS MARION (4-5,3-4 Conferen)
Lauryn Taylor 4-14 7-7 15; Jada Richards 5-11 1-2 14; Scarlett Gilmore 5-15
1-2 13; Aniyah Oliver 5-10 1-3 11; Kiana Lee 3-5 2-2 8; Jasmine Stanley 2-3
1-1 5; Ke'Onna Bryant 1-5 0-0 2; Janiyah Hagood 0-2 2-2 2; Jasmyne May 0-3
0-0 0. Totals 25-68 15-19 70.
SOUTHERN WESLEYAN (2-6,2-3 Conferen)
Shelby Glance 6-16 0-0 15; Brittany Mack 4-8 2-2 10; Lonesha Lee 4-7 2-3 10;
Tristen Berry 5-11 0-1 10; Kayla Garrett 3-6 1-2 7; Sasha Schoenborn 2-4 0-0
5; Caroline Reese 2-7 0-0 4; Nakia Hooks 1-3 0-0 2; Allie Newberry 0-2 0-0
0; Brooke Henricks 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 27-67 5-8 63.
Francis Marion................   17   16   19   18  -   70
Southern Wesleyan.........   18   17   18   10  -   63
3-point goals--Francis Marion 5-21 (Jada Richards 3-5; Scarlett Gilmore 2-7;
Janiyah Hagood 0-1; Jasmyne May 0-1; Aniyah Oliver 0-3; Lauryn Taylor 0-4),
Southern Wesleyan 4-24 (Shelby Glance 3-8; Sasha Schoenborn 1-3; Lonesha Lee
0-1; Tristen Berry 0-3; Caroline Reese 0-4; Allie Newberry 0-1; Brooke
Henricks 0-2; Brittany Mack 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Southern
Wesleyan-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 47 (Lauryn Taylor 11), Southern
Wesleyan 40 (Shelby Glance 9). Assists--Francis Marion 7 (Aniyah Oliver 3),
Southern Wesleyan 11 (Brittany Mack 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 15,
Southern Wesleyan 21. Technical fouls--None. A-102