BRISTOL, TN – Junior guard Scarlett Gilmore scored a career-high 28 points and sophomore center Lauryn Taylor and freshman guard Kiana Lee both hit key buckets in the final 1:31 to carry Francis Marion University to an 87-84 upset win over sixth-seeded King University (Tenn.), Monday night (Feb. 28) in the second round of the Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
Francis Marion, 16-12, advances to the third round, where the Patriots will face third-seeded Belmont Abbey College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Wofford College's Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
 
Gilmore connected on 9-of-17 field goal attempts, including 5-of-8 shots from behind the three-point arc, and was 5-of-6 at the foul line.  The Rock Hill native also hauled down five rebounds. Taylor finished with 19 points and six rebounds, while Lee tallied 15 points and eight rebounds. 
 
Junior forward Jasmine Stanley and sophomore point guard Aniyah Oliver both chipped in 10 points, with Stanley adding seven rebounds.
 
Brianna Dunbar led the Tornado (13-13) with 20 points, while senior Trinity Lee scored 16.
 
After trailing by as many as 15 late in the third quarter, King rallied to tie the game at 82-82 after a fast-break lay-in by Dunbar with 1:56 left in the contest.  On the ensuring FMU possession, Taylor swished a three-pointer from the left corner to put the Patriots up 85-82 with 1:31 remaining.
 
Two free throws by Dunbar with 1:08 on the clock brought the Tornado within 85-84, but Lee drained a 10-foot floater in the lane with 51 ticks left to give FMU an 87-84 advantage.  Despite not getting the ball back over midcourt again, Francis Marion used its defense to force King to miss its final five shots.
 
Gilmore started the game extremely hot, scoring 10 points in the opening three-and-a-half minutes as the Patriots raced to an 18-7 lead.  Four three-pointers by the Tornado quickly trimmed the margin to 20-19.  FMU broke a 22-22 deadlock with a bucket by Taylor and a driving lay-in by Lee to grab a 26-22 advantage as the period ended.
 
Taylor opened the second quarter with a fast-break hoop, and Francis Marion led by eight on two occasions.  A three-pointer by Gilmore from the right corner stretched the margin to 46-37 with 10 ticks left before halftime, but a late bucket by the Tornado trimmed the lead to seven at intermission.
 
FMU shot a scorching 60 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes, while holding King to 38.9 percent.
 
A three-point play by Lee and two free throws from Gilmore gave Francis Marion its largest lead at 64-49 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.  However, King scored the final six points of the period to draw within 64-55.
 
That run continued through the first six points of the fourth quarter as the Patriot lead was whittled to 64-61.  FMU managed to hang onto the lead and went up five (80-75) after a pair of charity tosses by Taylor.  King responded with a 7-2 spurt to knot the score at 82-82.
 
For the game, FMU connected on 52.4 percent of its field goal attempts, including 9-of-17 from three-point range, while nailing 12-of-15 free throws.  King shot 42.5 percent from the floor, was 8-of-25 from beyond the arc, and 14-of-16 at the free throw stripe.
 
 
02/28/22 7:00 pm at Bristol, TN
FRANCIS MARION 87, KING (TN) 84
FRANCIS MARION (16-12)
Scarlett Gilmore 9-17 5-6 28; Lauryn Taylor 7-15 3-4 19; Kiana Lee 6-9 3-3
15; Aniyah Oliver 4-10 1-1 10; Jasmine Stanley 5-9 0-1 10; Jada Richards 1-1
0-0 3; MiLeia Owens 1-1 0-0 2; Jasmyne May 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-63 12-15 87.
KING (TN) (13-13)
Brianna Dunbar 7-16 4-4 20; Trinity Lee 6-12 1-2 16; Ryleigh Fritz 4-11 2-3
11; Alexa Gramann 3-3 4-4 10; Jaden Potts 3-4 0-0 8; Caroline Harville 3-8
0-0 6; Desiree Bates 1-8 3-3 5; Madison Worley 2-5 0-0 4; Jada Campbell 1-3
0-0 2; Jhayda McKinney 1-3 0-0 2; Madee Denton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-73 14-16
84.
Francis Marion.............   26   20   18   23  -   87
King (TN).....................   22   17   16   29  -   84
3-point goals--Francis Marion 9-17 (Scarlett Gilmore 5-8; Lauryn Taylor 2-4;
Aniyah Oliver 1-2; Jada Richards 1-1; Kiana Lee 0-2), King (TN) 8-25
(Trinity Lee 3-6; Brianna Dunbar 2-4; Jaden Potts 2-2; Ryleigh Fritz 1-4;
Madison Worley 0-1; Jada Campbell 0-2; Jhayda McKinney 0-2; Desiree Bates
0-3; Caroline Harville 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, King
(TN)-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 38 (Kiana Lee 8), King (TN) 37 (Alexa
Gramann 6). Assists--Francis Marion 14 (Kiana Lee 4), King (TN) 11 (Ryleigh
Fritz 5). Total fouls--Francis Marion 14, King (TN) 14. Technical
fouls--None. A-324