SPARTANBURG, SC – The Cinderella run of the Francis Marion University women's basketball team came to an end in the second half as top-seeded and seventh-ranked Barton College rallied from a one-point halftime deficit to claim a 77-58 win over the seventh-seeded Patriots, Sunday afternoon (March 6) in the title game of the 2022 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
Francis Marion, in its first year as a conference member, ends the year 18-13.  Barton improves to 28-1 and will await its NCAA Division II Tournament destination to be announced on Sunday night.
 
Sophomore All-Conference center Lauryn Taylor led the Patriots with 23 points and 12 rebounds, as she notched her 14th double-double of the season.  Freshman guard Kiana Lee added 13 points and six rebounds.  FMU guards Scarlett Gilmore and Aniyah Oliver, who were held to six and five points respectively on Sunday, were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Tournament MVP Shanika Peterkin led Barton with 17 points and 17 rebounds, while frontcourt mate Jami Tham registered 17 points and 16 rebounds.
 
The contest was decided in the third quarter.  FMU held a 34-33 advantage at halftime that it stretched to 36-33 on a bucket by Taylor to open the period.  The Bulldogs then outscored the Patriots 33-13 over the remainder of the quarter, while shooting 65 percent from the floor, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc – after not having made a three-pointer in the opening 20 minutes.
 
After Taylor's hoop, Barton used a 15-4 spurt to assume a 48-40 lead.  Two free throws by Lee brought FMU to within six.  However, a late 7-0 Barton push helped the Bulldogs extend the margin to 66-49 at the end of the period.
 
Francis Marion drew to within 12 twice in the final quarter, the final time at 68-56 after a turn-around jumper by Taylor with 6:15 left, but that was as close as the Patriots would get.
 
FMU erased an early 8-7 deficit with buckets by Gilmore and junior forward Jasmine Stanley.  The Patriot lead reached 15-10 after a free throw by Oliver with 1:00 remaining in the opening period, which eventually ended with FMU up 15-12.
 
A three-point play by Lee extended FMU's advantage to 18-12 to open the second quarter.  However, Barton rattled off seven straight points to take a 19-18 lead.  A three-pointer by Taylor capped a 7-2 response from Francis Marion and resulted in a 25-21 Patriot lead.
 
Barton scored four consecutive to knot the score at 25-25 and eventually went up 33-30.  A lay-up by senior guard Jasmyne May and a hoop in the paint by Oliver reclaimed the lead for FMU, 34-33, as the teams left the court at halftime.
 
Francis Marion connected on 41.1 percent of its field goal attempts, including 4-of-11 from three-point range, and was 8-of-12 at the foul line.  Barton shot 42.1 percent for the game, including 5-of-10 from long range, and was 8-of-9 from the free throw stripe.

 
 
03/06/22 4:00 pm at Spartanburg, SC
#7 BARTON 77, FRANCIS MARION 58
FRANCIS MARION (18-13)
Lauryn Taylor 10-18 0-0 23; Kiana Lee 4-9 5-5 13; Scarlett Gilmore 2-9 1-2
6; Aniyah Oliver 2-6 1-3 5; Jada Richards 2-6 1-2 5; Jasmine Stanley 2-6 0-0
4; Jasmyne May 1-1 0-0 2; Janiyah Hagood 0-0 0-0 0; Ke'Onna Bryant 0-0 0-0
0; MiLeia Owens 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 8-12 58.
BARTON (28-1)
Jami Tham 8-22 1-1 17; Shanika Peterkin 8-21 1-2 17; Lauren Walker 6-11 2-2
16; Akira Wiggins 5-12 4-4 15; Michelle Gainey 3-5 0-0 8; Payton Sutton 2-3
0-0 4; Kaliyah Gladney 0-0 0-0 0; Michaela Dixon 0-0 0-0 0; Chumani
Chamberlain 0-0 0-0 0; Kayla Byrne 0-0 0-0 0; Aniyah Jones 0-1 0-0 0; Alexa
Roberson 0-1 0-0 0; Jasmine Keller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-76 8-9 77.
Francis Marion................   15   19   15    9  -   58
Barton.............................   12   21   33   11  -   77
3-point goals--Francis Marion 4-11 (Lauryn Taylor 3-4; Scarlett Gilmore 1-4;
Jada Richards 0-2; Kiana Lee 0-1), Barton 5-10 (Michelle Gainey 2-3; Lauren
Walker 2-4; Akira Wiggins 1-3). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None,
Barton-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 32 (Lauryn Taylor 12), Barton 49
(Shanika Peterkin 17). Assists--Francis Marion 10 (Kiana Lee 3), Barton 16
(Shanika Peterkin 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion 16, Barton 13. Technical
fouls--None. A-1008