HICKORY, NC – Sophomore guard Trinity Adams tallied 18 points and nine rebounds to pace Francis Marion University in its 76-73 defeat of Lenoir-Rhyne University, Tuesday (Nov. 21) night in women's basketball non-conference action.
 
Francis Marion (2-2) returns to the court in a week on Nov. 28 facing off against Fayetteville State University. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in Fayetteville, N.C.
 
Following Adams' point total that came on 6-of-7 shooting, was senior center and back-to-back Conference Carolinas' Player of the Week Lauryn Taylor with 16 points and eight rebounds. Most of Taylor's work came in the second half, as she was limited to seven minutes in the opening half due to foul trouble.
 
With her first career double-double, freshman center Trinity Delaney registered 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Columbia native and A.C. Flora High School product shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and was 3-of-4 at the foul line, while handing out three assists and blocking two shots. Two other Patriots scored in double digits: junior forward Kiana Lee (15) and senior guard Aniyah Oliver (11).
 
Francis Marion outshot Lenoir Rhyne in both field goals, 45.8 percent to 37.1 percent, and three-point accuracy, 42.1 percent to 35 percent, while both squads were 14-of-19 at the free throw stripe.
 
Blaikley Crooks led Lenoir-Rhyne with 19 points and seven rebounds.  The Bears (2-2) came into the contest ranked seventh in the most recent D2CSC Southeast Region poll.
 
Francis Marion totaled 36 points in the paint and another 16 from second-chance points. With a total of 41 rebounds, the Patriots picked up more off the boards than their counterpart's 37.
 
In the opening period, a three-pointer from junior guard Jada Richards brought the game to a standstill at 11-11. As Taylor picked up her second foul and went to the bench, Lenoir-Rhyne posted nine straight points to go up 20-11, before Lee scored the final bucket of the period.
 
The Patriots closed the seven-point gap and came within four points with a pair of made jump shots from Adams. An 8-0 run in the final two minutes of the second quarter put FMU up by one, but a free throw from LRU's Emily Harman knotted the game at halftime 38-38.
 
Francis Marion posted an additional 16 points in the third quarter, exchanging leads with Lenoir-Rhyne twice.  The Patriots led by as many as five, but held a slim 56-55 margin at the end of the period.
 
Connecting on 6-of-13 attempts from the field in the final period, FMU never trailed over the final 10 minutes. A three-point play by Taylor opened the quarter, and the Patriots held their largest lead of seven points twice, 68-61 after a three-pointer by Adams and 73-66 after a three-pointer from Taylor.
 
Taylor, already 21st on the FMU career-scoring list with 1,224 points, moved into 19th place on the rebounding chart with 644 by passing Leatha Lee.
 
 
11/21/23 5:30 pm at Hickory, NC
FRANCIS MARION 76, LENOIR-RHYNE 73
FRANCIS MARION (2-2)
Trinity Adams 6-7 4-6 18; Lauryn Taylor 6-19 3-3 16; Kiana Lee 6-14 2-4 15;
Aniyah Oliver 3-6 2-2 11; Trinity Delaney 4-4 3-4 11; Jada Richards 2-6 0-0
5; MacKenzie Feagin 0-1 0-0 0; Nevaeh Farmer 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 14-19 76.
LENOIR-RHYNE (2-2)
Blaikley Crooks 9-14 0-0 19; Andrea Torres 5-8 0-0 14; Mikeba Jones 4-12 6-6
14; Emily Harman 3-13 4-6 11; Jalen Gathers 3-13 4-5 10; Tilda Lindstrom 1-6
0-0 3; Maleiya Hill 1-1 0-2 2; Megan Landsiedel 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 26-70
14-19 73.
Francis Marion................   13   25   18   20  -   76
Lenoir-Rhyne..................   20   18   17   18  -   73
3-point goals--Francis Marion 8-19 (Aniyah Oliver 3-6; Trinity Adams 2-2;
Lauryn Taylor 1-3; Jada Richards 1-3; Kiana Lee 1-3; MacKenzie Feagin 0-1;
Nevaeh Farmer 0-1), Lenoir-Rhyne 7-20 (Andrea Torres 4-7; Emily Harman 1-4;
Tilda Lindstrom 1-3; Blaikley Crooks 1-1; Megan Landsiedel 0-3; Jalen
Gathers 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Lenoir-Rhyne-Megan
Landsiedel. Rebounds--Francis Marion 41 (Trinity Delaney 12), Lenoir-Rhyne
37 (Mikeba Jones 7; Blaikley Crooks 7; Tilda Lindstrom 7). Assists--Francis
Marion 17 (Kiana Lee 4; Aniyah Oliver 4), Lenoir-Rhyne 19 (Emily Harman 5).
Total fouls--Francis Marion 15, Lenoir-Rhyne 15. Technical fouls--None. A-239