SPARTANBURG, SC – Junior guard Scarlett Gilmore scored a career-high equaling 28 points to lead five players in double figures and the Patriots withstood numerous fourth-quarter rallies by second-seeded University of Mount Olive to claim a 96-84 upset win, Saturday evening (March 5) in the semifinals of 2022 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
The seventh-seeded Patriots notch their fourth consecutive win away from home to improve to 18-12 and reach the championship game in the first year as a conference member.  FMU will face top-seeded and seventh-ranked Barton College (27-1) on Sunday at 4 p.m. for the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.  Barton was a 76-48 winner over Chowan University in Saturday's opening semifinal. The tournament is being hosted at Wofford College's Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
 
Gilmore was 4-of-7 from behind the three-point arc, drained 12-of-14 free throws, and recorded three assists and three steals.  Freshman guard Kiana Lee followed with 18 points (two shy of her career high) on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, while sophomore point guard Aniyah Oliver tallied 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists.  She also directed an FMU offense that committed only 10 turnovers and shot 50 percent from the field.
 
FMU freshman guard Jada Richards added 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half, and sophomore All-Conference center Lauryn Taylor registered 12 points and eight rebounds despite being saddled with foul trouble much of the game.  Junior forward Jasmine Stanley chipped in eight points and five rebounds.
 
Guard Ayonna Cotten led UMO (17-5) with 22 points as all five Trojan starters reached double figures.
 
After Lee opened the game with a jump shot, Mount Olive quickly evened the score and would not trail for the remainder of the opening quarter.  The Trojans went up 29-24 early in the second period, before FMU responded with a 7-0 spurt.  With the score knotted at 31-31, the Patriots rattled off another 7-0 run – including four points from Taylor – and would never trail again.
 
The advantage reached 12 points at 45-33 after a lay-in by Taylor with 1:01 left before halftime.  UMO scored five quick points, but Richards nailed a three-pointer at the horn to give FMU a 48-38 halftime cushion.
 
The Trojans opened the second half on a 9-2 run to trim the margin to one possession (50-47).  A three-pointer by Cotton brought UMO within 52-50, but Gilmore hit a three and Oliver converted a lay-up to extend the lead to 57-50.  Francis Marion would further extend its advantage to 10 on three occasions before settling for a 72-65 margin heading to the final quarter.
 
A pair of charity tosses by Oliver gave FMU an 11-point lead at 76-65 with 7:58 left.  Mount Olive gradually chipped away and pulled to within four at 81-77 with 3:40 on the clock. The margin was five entering the final two minutes, but Gilmore came up big again with a three-pointer.  Following a three-pointer by Ivanda Hudjakova at the other end, the advantage remained at five entering the final minute.
 
A drive and lay-up by Oliver with 48 ticks left gave FMU a 90-83 margin, and the Patriots made six free throws in the final 42 seconds to seal the win.
 
In addition to shooting 50 percent, Francis Marion was 9-of-17 from beyond the arc and hit 21-of-28 free throws.  UMO was held to 43.2 percent from the floor – after shooting 55 percent in the opening quarter – and was 12-of-16 at the foul line.

 
 
03/05/22 7:30 pm at Spartanburg, SC
FRANCIS MARION 96, MOUNT OLIVE 84
FRANCIS MARION (18-12)
Scarlett Gilmore 6-17 12-14 28; Kiana Lee 8-11 0-0 18; Aniyah Oliver 5-9 5-8
15; Jada Richards 5-14 0-0 13; Lauryn Taylor 5-9 2-2 12; Jasmine Stanley 3-4
2-4 8; Ke'Onna Bryant 1-1 0-0 2; Janiyah Hagood 0-1 0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 33-66 21-28 96.
MOUNT OLIVE (17-5)
Ayonna Cotten 7-13 4-4 22; Laila Harris 7-15 2-4 16; Ivanda Hudjakova 5-11
0-0 13; Azariah Fields 4-16 3-4 12; Sherry Johnson 4-7 2-2 10; Asia Smith
4-4 0-0 8; Makayla Kimble 1-5 0-0 2; Haleigh Crews 0-1 1-2 1; Kaia Simpson
0-1 0-0 0; Taylor Haynes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-74 12-16 84.
Francis Marion...............   21   27   24   24  -   96
Mount Olive...................   27   11   27   19  -   84
3-point goals--Francis Marion 9-17 (Scarlett Gilmore 4-7; Jada Richards 3-5;
Kiana Lee 2-3; Aniyah Oliver 0-2), Mount Olive 8-19 (Ayonna Cotten 4-7;
Ivanda Hudjakova 3-6; Azariah Fields 1-4; Kaia Simpson 0-1; Taylor Haynes
0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Jada Richards, Mount Olive-Ivanda
Hudjakova. Rebounds--Francis Marion 40 (Lauryn Taylor 8), Mount Olive 41
(Sherry Johnson 10). Assists--Francis Marion 14 (Aniyah Oliver 4), Mount
Olive 15 (Azariah Fields 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion 16, Mount Olive 22.
Technical fouls--None. A-747