FLORENCE, SC – Back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Kiana Lee and sophomore Aniyah Oliver ignited a late 17-5 run that allowed Francis Marion University to register a 77-61 victory over Erskine College, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 29) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion also notched its first six-game winning streak since 2017, while upping its overall mark to 10-6 and its conference record to 9-5.  FMU will play host to Belmont Abbey College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., a contest that was postponed from earlier this season.
 
Sophomore center Lauryn Taylor led FMU with 16 points and 13 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the year and seventh of her young career.  She connected on 7-of-13 field goal attempts and at the defensive end blocked two shots.
 
Junior forward Zaria Woods and Lee each scored 13 points, with Woods hitting 6-of-7 shots and pulling down eight rebounds.  Oliver tallied 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and there steals, while freshman Janiyah Hagood came off the bench to chip in a career-high 10 points.
 
Sophomore guard Anzya Cook led the Flying Fleet (0-17, 0-15) with 26 points and five assists.
 
Erskine came out strong and forged ahead 8-2 near the midway point of the first quarter.  Minutes later, Francis Marion responded with an 11-0 run to take the lead for good.  The Patriots led 18-12 at the end of the period.
 
The margin was two at 26-24 after a three-pointer from Cook with 5:57 left before halftime.  A lay-in by Woods started a 9-0 spurt that eventually led to the Patriots leading 40-31 at intermission.
 
FMU held a 14-point margin (52-38) following a stick-back bucket by Lee with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter.  A three-pointer by Hagood later extended the advantage to 55-40, but Erskine trimmed the deficit to 56-44 at the end of the period.
 
Consecutive three-pointers by Cook and Mariah Corry got the Flying Fleet to within 57-50 with 6:54 left in the contest.  Lee and Oliver then knocked down their long-range shots to push the lead to 63-50, and the 17-5 run eventually resulted in a commanding 74-55 lead with 3:33 on the clock.
 
Francis Marion shot 51.9 percent from the floor, including 7-of-18 from beyond the arc, and was 14-of-24 at the stripe.  The Patriots held Erskine to 34.5 percent shooting and the Flying Fleet made 11-of-19 free throws.  It marked the third consecutive game that FMU has held its opponent under 38-percent shooting.
 
The taller Patriots held a 44-27 rebounding advantage and led 40-14 in points-in-the-paint.

 
 
01/29/22 2:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 77, ERSKINE 61
ERSKINE (0-17,0-15 Confer)
Anzya Cook 8-12 4-4 26; Shanece Mitchell 4-13 1-3 10; Megan Jones 2-4 3-4 9;
Amaya Richardson 3-9 1-2 8; Carmen Chandler 1-4 1-4 4; Mariah Corry 1-6 0-0
3; Kitara Henry 0-3 1-2 1; Chelsey Eison 0-1 0-0 0; Ianna Odulaja 0-0 0-0 0;
Savannah Cannon 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 11-19 61.
FRANCIS MARION (10-6,9-5 Confere)
Lauryn Taylor 7-13 2-6 16; Kiana Lee 4-6 3-4 13; Zaria Woods 6-7 1-2 13;
Aniyah Oliver 3-5 4-6 12; Janiyah Hagood 3-4 2-3 10; Ke'Onna Bryant 3-5 1-1
7; Jada Richards 2-4 0-0 5; Jasmyne May 0-4 1-2 1; MiLeia Owens 0-0 0-0 0;
Scarlett Gilmore 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 28-54 14-24 77.
Erskine.......................   12   19   13   17  -   61
Francis Marion............   18   22   16   21  -   77
3-point goals--Erskine 12-26 (Anzya Cook 6-8; Megan Jones 2-3; Amaya
Richardson 1-3; Carmen Chandler 1-1; Mariah Corry 1-5; Shanece Mitchell 1-3;
Savannah Cannon 0-2; Kitara Henry 0-1), Francis Marion 7-18 (Kiana Lee 2-3;
Janiyah Hagood 2-3; Aniyah Oliver 2-3; Jada Richards 1-3; Scarlett Gilmore
0-3; Lauryn Taylor 0-3). Fouled out--Erskine-None, Francis Marion-None.
Rebounds--Erskine 27 (Carmen Chandler 8), Francis Marion 44 (Lauryn Taylor
13). Assists--Erskine 13 (Anzya Cook 5), Francis Marion 19 (Kiana Lee 6).
Total fouls--Erskine 16, Francis Marion 14. Technical fouls--None. A-264