FLORENCE, SC – Junior guard Aniyah Oliver recorded a season-high in points with 17 giving Francis Marion University a 66-61 victory over conference-rival UNC Pembroke, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (11-6, 9-2) has won nine straight contests and is tied for second place in conference standings. The win also ended UNCP's nine-game winning streak. 
 
FMU stays home in the Walter D. Smith University Center with another conference matchup against Barton College on Tuesday (Jan. 24) at 5 p.m.
 
Oliver was a perfect 12-of-12 at the charity stripe tying the school record for most makes without a miss previously set by Jennifer Brabson versus Converse College on Feb. 22, 2000, and Crystal Sweat versus USC Spartanburg on Feb. 13, 1995.
 
Sophomore guard Jada Richards had a career-high 16-point performance, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor with four rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard Kiana Lee netted 11 points with six rebounds, while first-year forward Trinity Adams posted eight points and three steals. Oliver also hauled in six rebounds and dished out five assists.
 
Junior guard Kalaya Hall posted 13 points and six assists, while junior forward Lillian Flantos recorded 12 points for UNC Pembroke (12-7, 9-2).
 
Francis Marion led the Braves early, opening up with a 6-3 lead after a Lee three-pointer. The Braves answered back with a 9-0 run to jump ahead 12-6 with 4:42 left in the first quarter and did not let go of the lead heading into the second quarter with a 22-16 advantage. Lee knocked down seven of her 11 points in the first quarter.
 
FMU cut the UNCP lead quickly to one after an opening three-pointer from sophomore guard Janiyah Hagood and a second-chance layup from Oliver at 22-21. The Braves would ultimately brush that off and respond with a 12-1 run, acquiring their largest lead of the contest at 34-22 with 5:15 remaining in the first half. The Patriots would cut the Brave lead down to eight at 36-28 after two charity stripe makes from Oliver as the squads proceeded to the locker rooms at halftime.
 
UNCP bumped its lead back up to 11 (39-28) after beginning the second half with a Hall three-pointer. A second-chance jumper from senior forward Jasmine Stanley and a three-pointer from Richards cut the Braves' lead to six at 39-33 with 6:55 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The Braves secured a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and led by nine, but an Oliver three-pointer would ignite a 10-0 run by the Patriots to go ahead by 43-42 with 2:50 remaining in the quarter. Two UNCP makes from the line gave the Braves a two-point lead at 45-43 heading into the fourth quarter. Francis Marion held UNCP to an 18.2 percent shooting performance in the third period.
 
Entering the final quarter, the Patriots carried the momentum with them as Richards netted a three-pointer out of the gate to bump the Patriots ahead by one at 46-45. The three-pointer from Richards was the first of five lead changes in the fourth quarter.
 
The Braves tied the score at 47-47 before two free throw makes by Oliver sprung FMU ahead by two at 49-47. UNCP again knotted the score at 49-49 after a Flantos stick-back hoop, and Flantos responded with another two points to propel the Braves up 51-49 with 6:10 remaining in the game.
 
Oliver would net two free throw attempts to tie the score at 51-51, but the Braves responded fast with two consecutive paint makes to go up four at 55-51 with 4:35 left in the game. Coming out of the media timeout, the Patriots jumpstarted a 9-0 run to acquire their largest lead of the game at 60-55 with 44 seconds remaining. Richards put the Patriots in gear on that run with a coast-to-coast pull-up jump shot and then a three-pointer on the next possession.
 
The Braves cut the lead to three with three seconds left after a Clark three-pointer, but Lee sealed the win with a pair of free throws. Oliver knocked in 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to help FMU to the win.
 
Francis Marion shot 38.8 percent from the floor, including 7-of-21 from behind the three-point arc, and was 21-of-23 at the charity stripe. UNCP shot 42.9 percent from the floor, sinking 7-of-17 from behind the three-point arc, and was 6-of-9 at the charity stripe.

 
 
01/21/23 2:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 66, UNC PEMBROKE 61
UNC PEMBROKE (12-7,9-2 Confere)
Kalaya Hall 5-11 0-0 13; Lillian Flantos 6-10 0-0 12; Zaria Clark 3-11 4-7
10; Alcenia Purnell 3-5 2-2 10; Courtney Smith 4-9 0-0 9; Hannah Russell 2-4
0-0 5; Kelci Adams 1-1 0-0 2; Malea Garrison 0-2 0-0 0; Aniah McManus 0-3
0-0 0. Totals 24-56 6-9 61.
FRANCIS MARION (11-6,9-2 Confere)
Aniyah Oliver 2-10 12-12 17; Jada Richards 6-8 0-0 16; Kiana Lee 3-9 4-4 11;
Trinity Adams 3-4 2-3 8; Lauryn Taylor 2-10 2-2 6; Jasmine Stanley 2-3 1-2
5; Janiyah Hagood 1-4 0-0 3; Alexis Sexton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 21-23 66.
UNC Pembroke...............   22   14    9   16  -   61
Francis Marion................   16   12   15   23  -   66
3-point goals--UNC Pembroke 7-17 (Kalaya Hall 3-4; Alcenia Purnell 2-4;
Hannah Russell 1-2; Courtney Smith 1-4; Malea Garrison 0-2; Aniah McManus
0-1), Francis Marion 7-21 (Jada Richards 4-5; Janiyah Hagood 1-3; Aniyah
Oliver 1-7; Kiana Lee 1-3; Lauryn Taylor 0-3). Fouled out--UNC
Pembroke-Courtney Smith, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--UNC Pembroke 27
(Kalaya Hall 5), Francis Marion 34 (Jasmine Stanley 7). Assists--UNC
Pembroke 16 (Kalaya Hall 6), Francis Marion 16 (Aniyah Oliver 5; Lauryn
Taylor 5). Total fouls--UNC Pembroke 20, Francis Marion 10. Technical
fouls--None. A-253