FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University placed four players in double figures, but a 7-0 spurt midway through the fourth quarter proved decisive as the Patriots fell 71-64 to visiting Belmont Abbey College, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
FMU (2-6, 1-2) will now break for final exams. The Patriots will play two road conference games before Christmas: Dec. 14 at Converse University and Dec. 17 at Erskine College.
 
Junior guard Aniyah Oliver and sophomore guard Kiana Lee led Francis Marion with 11 points apiece, while senior guard Scarlett Gilmore and senior forward Jasmine Stanley added 10 points each.  Junior center Lauryn Taylor chipped in eight points and hauled down a team-high nine rebounds.  Lee grabbed seven caroms.
 
Sophomore forward Abigail Crain paced the Crusaders (4-3, 3-0) with 22 points.
 
Francis Marion led most of the opening quarter, but the Crusaders closed with a 7-2 run to take a 16-15 advantage.
 
Belmont Abbey led by as many as six (24-18) in the second quarter, but the Patriots rallied to go up 29-28 after a three-point jumper by freshman Trinity Adams.  Two possessions later, the Crusaders reassumed the lead and would carry a 40-33 margin into the locker room at halftime.
 
Although FMU would whittle the lead down to one on three occasions in the third quarter, Belmont Abbey still held a narrow 54-52 advantage heading in the final period.
 
A floater in the lane by freshman guard Alexis Sexton and two free throws by Lee quickly erased that deficit in the fourth quarter and gave FMU a 56-54 lead. Belmont Abbey responded with the decisive 7-0 run that resulted in a 61-56 lead with 4:45 on the clock.  FMU pulled to within one possession on two occasions – the final time at 65-62 after lay-up by Lee with 2:08 remaining.
 
However, the Crusaders made four of six free throws over the final 26 seconds to secure the victory.
 
Francis Marion shot 38.9 percent from the floor, including 7-of-22 from behind the three-point arc, and was 15-of-17 at the foul line.  Belmont Abbey hit 44.8 percent of their field goal attempts, including 5-of-15 from long range, and was 14-of-17 at the free throw stripe.

 
 
12/03/22 2:00 pm at Florence, SC
BELMONT ABBEY 71, FRANCIS MARION 64
BELMONT ABBEY (4-3,3-0 Conferen)
Abigail Crain 9-15 3-3 22; Taylor Stelley 6-14 5-6 19; Catherine Hendershot
6-10 5-6 18; Katie Bischoping 4-8 1-2 10; Riley James 1-4 0-0 2; Ricky
Lesenyego 0-1 0-0 0; Elfrieda Olsson 0-2 0-0 0; Cate Schieber 0-4 0-0 0.
Totals 26-58 14-17 71.
FRANCIS MARION (2-6,1-2 Conferen)
Aniyah Oliver 4-8 2-3 11; Kiana Lee 4-11 2-2 11; Scarlett Gilmore 3-9 2-2
10; Jasmine Stanley 3-5 4-4 10; Lauryn Taylor 2-9 4-4 8; Jada Richards 2-3
1-2 6; Alexis Sexton 2-6 0-0 5; Trinity Adams 1-3 0-0 3; Janiyah Hagood 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 21-54 15-17 64.
Belmont Abbey...............   16   24   14   17  -   71
Francis Marion................   15   18   19   12  -   64
3-point goals--Belmont Abbey 5-15 (Taylor Stelley 2-7; Katie Bischoping 1-1;
Catherine Hendershot 1-1; Abigail Crain 1-2; Cate Schieber 0-4), Francis
Marion 7-22 (Scarlett Gilmore 2-6; Jada Richards 1-2; Aniyah Oliver 1-3;
Kiana Lee 1-5; Trinity Adams 1-2; Alexis Sexton 1-2; Lauryn Taylor 0-2).
Fouled out--Belmont Abbey-None, Francis Marion-Jada Richards.
Rebounds--Belmont Abbey 29 (Catherine Hendershot 6; Katie Bischoping 6),
Francis Marion 33 (Lauryn Taylor 9). Assists--Belmont Abbey 17 (Taylor
Stelley 9), Francis Marion 15 (Scarlett Gilmore 4). Total fouls--Belmont
Abbey 15, Francis Marion 20. Technical fouls--None. A-195