BRISTOL, TN – Three Francis Marion University players posted double-doubles and the Patriots outscored North Greenville University 57-31 over the middle two quarters en route to a 76-63 victory over the Crusaders, Sunday evening (Feb. 27) in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
Francis Marion (15-12) will face sixth-seeded King University on the Tornado's home court on Monday at 7 p.m. in the second round.  The two squads split their two regular-season meetings.
 
Junior guard Scarlett Gilmore and sophomore center Lauryn Taylor led FMU with 21 points apiece.  Gilmore's total was a season-high, while Taylor added 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season.
 
FMU junior forward Jasmine Stanley also posted a double-double with 12 points and a career-high equaling 12 rebounds as the Patriots outrebounded NGU 48-27.  Sophomore point guard Aniyah Oliver was the third Patriot to register a double-double as she tallied 10 points and a career-high 11 assists.
 
Haylee Luttrell led North Greenville (8-20) with 19 points.
 
North Greenville opened a six-point margin in the opening quarter at 15-9 and led 15-12 as the horn sounded.
 
The Patriots exploded for 32 points in the second quarter to assume a 44-35 advantage at halftime.  Early in the second period, NGU expanded its lead to 23-16 only to have FMU score seven in a row to tie the score.  The Crusaders then scored five straight, but Francis Marion responded with six consecutive to lead 29-28.  That would swell to 36-30 before FMU settled for the nine-point halftime lead.
 
Francis Marion scored 25 points in the third period to take total command of the contest.  Gilmore (5) and Stanley (2) combined for the first seven of the third to put the FMU lead at 51-35.  That margin ballooned to 67-40 after a driving lay-in by freshman Kiana Lee with 1:14 on the clock.  The Patriots held a 69-46 lead at the end of the period.
 
A jumper in the paint by Stanley kept the advantage at 76-54 with 4:08 remaining.  NGU scored the game's final nine points to account for the 13-point margin.
 
Francis Marion connected on 46.7 percent of its field goal attempts, including 7-of-21 from behind the arc, while making 13-of-17 free throws.  The Crusaders were held to 34.4 percent shooting, 9-of-23 from three-point range, and 10-of-14 at the charity stripe.
 
FMU held a 22-12 edge in second-chance points.
 
 
02/27/22 6:00 pm at Bristol, TN
FRANCIS MARION 76, NORTH GREENVILLE 63
NORTH GREENVILLE (8-20,8-15 Confer)
Haylee Luttrell 7-14 5-7 19; Abi Oates 3-7 0-0 9; Jayda Glass 3-10 0-0 8;
Tolisha Walker 2-10 4-5 8; Zahria Jenkins 2-7 0-0 6; Morgan Vulpis 2-6 0-0
6; Tabitha Littlefield 2-4 1-2 5; Angie Rodriguez 1-3 0-0 2; Sarah Cline 0-1
0-0 0; Aniecia Malone 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-64 10-14 63.
FRANCIS MARION (15-12,13-11 Conf)
Scarlett Gilmore 6-14 6-6 21; Lauryn Taylor 9-12 2-3 21; Jasmine Stanley 6-7
0-0 12; Aniyah Oliver 2-8 5-7 10; Kiana Lee 3-9 0-1 7; Jada Richards 1-4 0-0
3; Janiyah Hagood 1-5 0-0 2; Ke'Onna Bryant 0-0 0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-0 0-0
0; Jasmyne May 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 13-17 76.
North Greenville..............   15   20   11   17  -   63
Francis Marion................   12   32   25    7  -   76
3-point goals--North Greenville 9-23 (Abi Oates 3-5; Zahria Jenkins 2-3;
Jayda Glass 2-6; Morgan Vulpis 2-4; Sarah Cline 0-1; Haylee Luttrell 0-4),
Francis Marion 7-21 (Scarlett Gilmore 3-7; Jada Richards 1-4; Aniyah Oliver
1-5; Kiana Lee 1-2; Lauryn Taylor 1-1; Janiyah Hagood 0-2). Fouled
out--North Greenville-None, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--North Greenville
27 (Tolisha Walker 5; Haylee Luttrell 5), Francis Marion 48 (Jasmine Stanley
12). Assists--North Greenville 12 (Haylee Luttrell 3), Francis Marion 20
(Aniyah Oliver 11). Total fouls--North Greenville 16, Francis Marion 15.
Technical fouls--None. A-217