CENTRAL, SC – Three Patriots landed in the double-figure territory, giving Francis Marion University a 70-66 victory over Southern Wesleyan University on Monday night (Jan. 16) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (9-6, 7-2) has won seven straight contests and currently remains tied for third in conference standings. FMU continues its road trip with another conference matchup with the University of Mount Olive on Wednesday (Jan. 18) at 5 p.m. before returning to the Smith University Center for a Battle of I-95 rematch with UNC Pembroke on Saturday (Jan. 21).
 
Junior center Lauryn Taylor led the Patriots with a team-high 16 points on a 6-of-16 shooting, while snagging nine rebounds. Senior forward and reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the week Jasmine Stanley supplied 14 points on a 7-of-11 shooting performance while also hauling down nine rebounds. Stanley also supplied a block and steal on the defensive end.
 
FMU junior point guard Aniyah Oliver registered 12 points, five rebounds, a game-high four assists, and two steals.
 
Junior point guard Brittany Mack posted 16 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Lexi Greffen supplied 15 points for Southern Wesleyan (2-15, 2-7).
 
The first half of this contest kicked off with a three-pointer from Oliver propelling the Patriots ahead 5-4 early in the first quarter. The Warriors then sparked a 7-0 spurt to climb ahead 11-5 with 4:27 remaining in the period. Taylor and sophomore guard Jada Richards combined for the Patriot's next 11 points to go ahead 15-13 heading into the second quarter.
 
At 6:09 in the second quarter, sophomore guard Janiyah Hagood knocked in a mid-range jumper to help grab the Patriots' largest lead of the half at 25-18. The Warriors had another seven-point spurt to push them ahead by one at 26-25 with 4:28 remaining in the half. Layups from Stanley and Oliver knocked FMU back in the lead at 29-26, until a free throw and layup from SWU locked the score at 29-29 with 2:56 until halftime. The Patriots scored the next six points to head into the locker room leading 35-29.
 
The tense back-and-forth battle continued in the third quarter as the Warriors continued to chip away at that Patriot lead. Southern Wesleyan would pull within three points of Francis Marion on three occasions in the third quarter all coming from three-point shots. Oliver scored six of the 13 FMU points in the third quarter, and one of her three-pointers gave FMU its largest lead of the game at 45-37.
 
To open the fourth quarter, a Taylor layup gave the Patriots a seven-point lead at 49-42 but the Warriors would ignite one of their sparks from earlier in the contest. SWU scored six straight cutting the FMU lead to one point at 49-48, but the Patriots would score the next six points to jump back ahead by seven. Southern Wesleyan did cut the deficit to three points on two possessions. Ultimately, Francis Marion would pull away each time the Warriors cut the lead to three. Sophomore guard Kiana Lee scored all seven of her points in the final quarter to help FMU grab another conference win.
 
Francis Marion shot 37.9 percent from the floor, including 5-of-16 from behind the three-point arc, and was 10-of-15 at the charity stripe. Southern Wesleyan shot 39.0 percent from the floor, sinking 5-of-17 from behind the three-point arc, and was 9-of-16 at the line.
 
 
01/16/23 5:00 pm at Central, SC
FRANCIS MARION 70, SOUTHERN WESLEYAN 66
FRANCIS MARION (9-6,7-2 Conferen)
Jasmine Stanley 7-11 3-5 17; Lauryn Taylor 6-16 3-6 16; Aniyah Oliver 4-9
2-4 13; Trinity Adams 2-7 4-4 8; Jada Richards 3-8 0-0 7; Kiana Lee 2-8 3-4
7; Janiyah Hagood 1-4 0-0 2; MiLeia Owens 0-1 0-0 0; Alexis Sexton 0-2 0-0
0. Totals 25-66 15-23 70.
SOUTHERN WESLEYAN (2-16,2-8 Confere)
Brittany Mack 8-9 0-0 18; Lexi Greffen 6-16 5-5 17; Allie Newberry 3-7 1-2
8; Alexis Glover 3-9 0-0 6; Shelby Glance 2-8 0-2 5; Brooke Henricks 1-4 3-7
5; Caroline Reese 2-5 0-0 5; Tristen Berry 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 26-64 9-16 66.
Francis Marion................   15   20   12   23  -   70
Southern Wesleyan.........   13   16   13   24  -   66
3-point goals--Francis Marion 5-16 (Aniyah Oliver 3-4; Jada Richards 1-4;
Lauryn Taylor 1-3; Janiyah Hagood 0-2; Alexis Sexton 0-1; Kiana Lee 0-2),
Southern Wesleyan 5-19 (Brittany Mack 2-3; Caroline Reese 1-3; Allie
Newberry 1-3; Shelby Glance 1-3; Tristen Berry 0-1; Brooke Henricks 0-2;
Lexi Greffen 0-4). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Southern Wesleyan-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 46 (Jasmine Stanley 11), Southern Wesleyan 45
(Alexis Glover 9; Shelby Glance 9). Assists--Francis Marion 14 (Aniyah
Oliver 4), Southern Wesleyan 14 (Tristen Berry 3; Shelby Glance 3; Brooke
Henricks 3; Allie Newberry 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 15, Southern
Wesleyan 17. Technical fouls--None. A-54