PEMBROKE, NC – Sophomore guard Kiana Lee scored 19 points, her seventh straight double-figure game of the season, but Francis Marion University would fall short 69-66 to conference-rival UNC Pembroke, Wednesday night (Nov. 30) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (2-5, 1-1) will return home for Youth Day and to continue conference play against Belmont Abbey College, Saturday (Nov. 30) at 2 p.m.
 
FMU senior guard Scarlett Gilmore supplied 13 points, including three makes from behind the arc. Sophomore guard Jada Richards registered 10 points, while hauling in six rebounds and grabbing three steals. Junior center Lauryn Taylor would lead the team with 11 rebounds, but was held to just four points.


Guard Courtney Smith led UNC Pembroke (2-5, 1-0) with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

The Patriots shot 34.4 percent from the floor, including 10-of-28 from behind the three-point arc. The Braves connected on 41.4 percent of their shots and shot 8-of-22 from long range. FMU converted 12-of-13 shots at the charity stripe, while UNCP knocked down 13-of-16.


FMU would jump-start the first quarter with an 11-5 lead, as junior guard Aniyah Oliver knocked down two from the charity stripe. The Braves would answer back with a 12-0 run to lead by six going into the second quarter (17-11).
 
With Francis Marion down six at 20-14 with 8:27 left in the half, the Patriots would answer back with a 14-0 run to lead 28-20 with 5:19 remaining. Gilmore was responsible for seven of those points. The Braves would stomp back to tie the score (30-30) after a three-pointer from Jada Coleman and a layup from Hannah Russell with 50 seconds remaining. Lee converted a layup with 41 seconds to propel the Patriots ahead 32-30 going into halftime.
 
As FMU started the third quarter with a two-point lead, UNCP would tie it back up on two occasions at 32-32 and 35-35. The Patriots would begin a 7-0 run to lead 42-35 with 5:30 left in the quarter quickly thereafter. Francis Marion would lead by as many as eight points at 47-39 with 2:12 to go after Lee knocked down a layup. With 1:02 left in the third quarter, the Braves would pull within five after two charity stripe makes from Zaria Clark, but FMU freshman guard Alexis Sexton pushed the Patriots ahead by eight once again (52-44) after a three-point make with nine seconds left to end the quarter.
 
The fourth quarter would begin with three makes from behind the arc by UNCP to quickly tie the score at 53-53 with 6:53 on the clock. A layup and two free throws by Richards would extend the Patriot lead to four with 5:59 remaining (57-53). A layup and three-pointer from the Braves would propel them ahead by one at 58-57, but Lee would nail her two attempts from the line to get FMU back in front by one.
 
UNCP would once again jump back in front after a 9-0 run with 1:54 remaining, at 67-59. A three-pointer from Oliver and two more free throws by Lee would trim the Braves' lead to three points with 30 seconds on the clock. Two makes from the line for UNCP would put the Braves ahead 69-64 with 27 seconds remaining. A Richards' layup with 19 seconds left would cut the lead to three, but that would be as close as FMU would get. 
 
 
11/30/22 5:00 pm at Pembroke, NC
UNC PEMBROKE 69, FRANCIS MARION 66
FRANCIS MARION (2-5,1-1 Conferen)
Kiana Lee 6-11 5-5 19; Scarlett Gilmore 5-15 0-0 13; Jada Richards 4-13 2-2
10; Alexis Sexton 3-4 0-0 9; Aniyah Oliver 2-6 2-2 8; Lauryn Taylor 2-8 0-0
4; Trinity Adams 0-5 2-2 2; Jasmine Stanley 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 22-64 12-13
66.
UNC PEMBROKE (2-5,1-1 Conferen)
Courtney Smith 8-15 4-6 23; Kalaya Hall 5-8 2-2 14; Zaria Clark 4-6 4-4 12;
Kelci Adams 2-8 0-0 5; Jada Coleman 2-3 0-0 5; Lillian Flantos 0-4 3-4 3;
Kelly Luck 1-2 0-0 3; Aniah McManus 1-3 0-0 2; Hannah Russell 1-4 0-0 2;
Malea Garrison 0-2 0-0 0; Alcenia Purnell 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 13-16 69.
Francis Marion................   11   21   20   14  -   66
UNC Pembroke..................   17   13   14   25  -   69
3-point goals--Francis Marion 10-28 (Alexis Sexton 3-3; Scarlett Gilmore
3-8; Kiana Lee 2-5; Aniyah Oliver 2-3; Trinity Adams 0-1; Lauryn Taylor 0-2;
Jada Richards 0-6), UNC Pembroke 8-22 (Courtney Smith 3-6; Kalaya Hall 2-3;
Jada Coleman 1-2; Kelci Adams 1-5; Kelly Luck 1-2; Alcenia Purnell 0-3;
Aniah McManus 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, UNC Pembroke-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 40 (Lauryn Taylor 11), UNC Pembroke 37 (Zaria Clark
11). Assists--Francis Marion 12 (Kiana Lee 4), UNC Pembroke 15 (Zaria Clark
5). Total fouls--Francis Marion 19, UNC Pembroke 19. Technical
fouls--None. A-324