FLORENCE, SC – Chowan University used a game-ending 8-2 spurt over the final 4:19 to rally and claim a 75-73 victory over Francis Marion University, Tuesday evening (Feb. 8) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (11-9, 10-8) will play host to a pair contests this weekend: Friday at 5:30 p.m. against North Greenville University and Saturday at 2 p.m. against Converse University.
 
Sophomore center Lauryn Taylor led FMU with 19 points and 10 rebounds – her seventh double-double of the year.  Sophomore point guard Aniyah Oliver tallied 15 points, seven assists, and four rebounds, while junior forward Zaria Woods added 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
 
Senior forward Destiny Robinson led five Chowan players scoring in double figures with 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.  The Hawks (13-6, 13-4) are ranked 10th in the latest NCAA Division II Southeast Region poll.
 
Chowan opened the game with a 9-2 run, but FMU quickly responded with seven straight points to knot the score.  After a Hawks' bucket by Aniah Patterson, Francis Marion rattled off the game's next nine points and 13 of the next 14 to forge a 22-12 advantage.  A three-point play by Patriot junior Jasmine Stanley with 3.1 seconds left gave FMU a 27-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Francis Marion would lead by 14 points on two occasions in the second period, the latter time at 42-28, but the Hawks finished the first half with a 14-3 surge to close within 45-42 at intermission.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers by Patriot freshman Jada Richards in the third period opened a 55-48 margin for FMU.  Chowan quickly rallied to deadlock the score at 56-56.  Five consecutive points by Oliver ignited a 10-1 run by the Patriots as Francis Marion held a 66-57 lead going into the final quarter.
 
The two teams traded buckets to open the final 10 minutes, but the Hawks gradually chipped away at the nine-point difference and pulled to within 71-70 with 3:59 left.  Neither team scored over the next two minutes until Chowan's Tyaysia Sharpe drained a three-pointer from the left elbow to give the Hawks their first lead since the opening minutes at 73-71.
 
After a pair of misses at the FMU offensive end, Demetria Bland doubled the margin to 75-71 with two free throws with 17 seconds remaining.  Oliver trimmed the deficit to two on a driving lay-up with nine ticks left.  Chowan missed two free throws with 8.1 seconds remaining, but a last-second three-point attempt by the Patriots was off the mark as the final horn sounded.
 
The Patriots shot 40.8 percent from the floor, while holding Chowan to just 33.8 percent shooting.

 
 
2/08/22 5:30 pm at Florence, SC
CHOWAN 75, FRANCIS MARION 73
CHOWAN (13-6,13-4 Confer)
Destiny Robinson 4-11 7-12 15; Monique Jones 6-15 1-2 13; Aniah Patterson
5-12 2-2 13; Tyaysia Sharpe 4-11 0-2 11; Keibra Hopkins 4-8 3-7 11; Olivia
Gaither 3-11 0-0 7; Demetria Bland 0-7 3-4 3; Jahkeria Bagby 1-1 0-0 2;
Emaree Hinton 0-0 0-0 0; Brianna Copeland 0-3 0-0 0; Shequana Jackson 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 27-80 16-29 75.
FRANCIS MARION (11-9,10-8 Confer)
Lauryn Taylor 9-18 1-3 19; Aniyah Oliver 4-8 6-7 15; Zaria Woods 6-12 0-1
12; Jasmine Stanley 4-5 1-1 9; Scarlett Gilmore 2-13 1-4 7; Jada Richards
2-10 0-0 6; Kiana Lee 2-3 1-2 5; Ke'Onna Bryant 0-0 0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-1
0-0 0; Jasmyne May 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 29-71 10-20 73.
Chowan.......................   16   26   15   18  -   75
Francis Marion.............   27   18   21    7  -   73
3-point goals--Chowan 5-21 (Tyaysia Sharpe 3-7; Olivia Gaither 1-5; Aniah
Patterson 1-2; Demetria Bland 0-3; Brianna Copeland 0-3; Keibra Hopkins
0-1), Francis Marion 5-27 (Scarlett Gilmore 2-8; Jada Richards 2-9; Aniyah
Oliver 1-4; Kiana Lee 0-1; MiLeia Owens 0-1; Jasmyne May 0-1; Lauryn Taylor
0-3). Fouled out--Chowan-Monique Jones. Rebounds--Chowan 66 (Destiny
Robinson 18), Francis Marion 40 (Lauryn Taylor 10). Assists--Chowan 17
(Olivia Gaither 4; Demetria Bland 4), Francis Marion 22 (Aniyah Oliver 7).
Total fouls--Chowan 21, Francis Marion 22. Technical fouls--None. A-121