FLORENCE, SC – Junior center Lauryn Taylor registered her second double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds, but Francis Marion University would fall short 77-76 to unbeaten Lenoir-Rhyne University, Monday night (Nov. 28) in non-conference women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (2-4) will hit the road for their annual Battle of I-95 matchup against UNC Pembroke, Wednesday (Nov. 28) at 5 p.m.
 
FMU sophomore guard Kiana Lee recorded 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting and pulled in eight rebounds.  First-year player Trinity Adams registered 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed two steals as well, while senior guard Scarlett Gilmore supplied 12 points.


Forward Brandi Hudson led Lenoir-Rhyne (7-0) with 24 points, while grabbing four rebounds and two steals.  The Bears are among the other teams receiving votes in the most recent WBCA Division II Top 25 poll.


The Patriots shot 38.4 percent from the floor, including 6-of-21 from behind the three-point arc. The Bears connected on 47.5 percent of their shots, but shot 5-of-11 from long range. FMU converted 14-of-19 shots at the stripe, while LRU canned 16-of-23.
 
With 18 lead changes coming in the game, there would be a whopping 13 of them in the first quarter alone. Lenoir-Rhyne would control the lead (17-16) with 3:14 remaining, but baskets from Taylor and Adams would spring the Patriots ahead and take the lead into the second quarter 24-20.
 
Entering the quarter, Lenoir-Rhyne started the quarter on a 4-0 run to tie the first time at 24-24, but Taylor would knock down a second-chance layup to push the Patriots ahead by two. A pair of free throw makes by LRU's Hudson would tie it once more at 26-26. FMU would lead by as much as eight points after a Gilmore three-pointer (40-32) and hold the lead into halftime. FMU carried a 43-37 advantage to the locker room.
 
The back-and-forth battle would continue in the third quarter of play, as the Bears would hit two consecutive three-pointers as part of an 8-0 spurt to retake the lead at 45-43. The game would tie back up at 49-49, but the Patriots would knock down two consecutive three-pointers of their own (by Aniyah Oliver and Taylor) to lead 55-49 with 3:28 left in the third quarter. Later still down six, LRU would answer back with a 9-0 run to end the quarter ahead 60-57.
 
The Patriots would retake the lead at 62-61 after a Gilmore pull-up jump shot. FMU would extend the lead to two after a Lee free throw make (64-62), but LRU would respond with eight straight points to regain the lead with 3:05 remaining.
 
Adams nailed a three-pointer with 1:56 left to shorten the Bear's lead to three (72-69), while Patriot sophomore guard Jada Richards knocked down a layup with 1:07 remaining to minimize the Bear lead to two points (75-73). A late-effort Taylor three-pointer with three seconds would bring the score within one, but would not be enough as the Bears would finish with a 77-76 win.
 

 
11/28/22 5:30 pm at Florence, SC
LENOIR-RHYNE 77, FRANCIS MARION 76
LENOIR-RHYNE (7-0)
Brandi Hudson 8-15 8-11 24; Emily Harman 6-9 5-5 18; Azariah Fields 5-15 2-5
12; Megan Landsiedel 3-4 0-0 9; Hannah Stull 4-7 0-0 9; Jalen Gathers 1-2
1-2 3; Blaikley Crooks 1-4 0-0 2; Maddie Dillinger 0-1 0-0 0; Bella Sims 0-2
0-0 0. Totals 28-59 16-23 77.
FRANCIS MARION (2-4)
Lauryn Taylor 7-19 3-4 19; Kiana Lee 6-13 1-2 14; Trinity Adams 5-7 2-2 13;
Scarlett Gilmore 4-11 3-5 12; Aniyah Oliver 3-10 2-2 9; Jada Richards 1-1
3-4 5; Jasmine Stanley 2-8 0-0 4; Janiyah Hagood 0-2 0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-1
0-0 0; Alexis Sexton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-73 14-19 76.
Lenoir-Rhyne..................   20   17   23   17  -   77
Francis Marion................   24   19   14   19  -   76
3-point goals--Lenoir-Rhyne 5-11 (Megan Landsiedel 3-4; Emily Harman 1-1;
Hannah Stull 1-2; Bella Sims 0-2; Jalen Gathers 0-1; Azariah Fields 0-1),
Francis Marion 6-21 (Lauryn Taylor 2-4; Kiana Lee 1-4; Scarlett Gilmore 1-6;
Aniyah Oliver 1-3; Trinity Adams 1-1; Janiyah Hagood 0-1; MiLeia Owens 0-1;
Alexis Sexton 0-1). Fouled out--Lenoir-Rhyne-None, Francis Marion-None.
Rebounds--Lenoir-Rhyne 32 (Azariah Fields 9), Francis Marion 46 (Lauryn
Taylor 14). Assists--Lenoir-Rhyne 21 (Azariah Fields 7), Francis Marion 15
(Aniyah Oliver 7). Total fouls--Lenoir-Rhyne 19, Francis Marion 20.
Technical fouls--None. A-267