CHARLOTTE, NC – Francis Marion University senior Lauryn Taylor scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Patriot defense held Johnson C. Smith University scoreless over the final 3:45 to capture a 54-48 non-conference victory, Monday evening (Dec. 4) in women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion improves to 3-4 and will now take a nine-day break for exams.  The Patriots will return to action on Dec. 13 with a Conference Carolinas road contest at Young Harris College.  Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.
 
Taylor's effort was her fourth double-double of the season and the 31st of her decorated career.  During the game, she passed former FMU center Cassandra Bishop for 19th place on the Patriot career-scoring list with 1,268 points and passed Shaunice Fulmore for 17th position on the rebounding chart with 672.
 
FMU junior Kiana Lee scored 11 points, while sophomore Trinity Adams chipped in nine points.
 
Guard Ciara Harris led Johnson C. Smith (1-4) with a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists.
 
After Harris scored on an inside hoop to draw the Bulls to within 49-48, the Patriot defense would not allow another point.  Taylor hit 3-of-4 free throws over the final 2:11, while senior point guard Aniyah Oliver was 2-of-2 allowing the Patriots to seal the road win.
 
Francis Marion shot 33.9 percent from the floor, while holding the Bulls to 34.0 percent.  The Patriots were 12-of-15 at the foul line compared to JCSU hitting only 5-of-8 charity tosses.
 
Johnson C. Smith jumped out to early leads of 9-4 and 12-8.  Adams capped an 8-0 run to end the first quarter with a three-pointer as Francis Marion forged a 16-12 advantage.
 
The Bulls quickly knotted the score at 16-16, but FMU answered with five straight points and eventually took its largest lead of the night at 29-22 after a three-pointer by Oliver.  A lay-in by Taylor equaled that margin (31-24) right before the halftime horn sounded.
 
FMU went scoreless for the opening 5:29 of the third quarter allowing JCSU to retake the lead at 32-31.  The two squads traded the lead before Taylor made two free throws to put the Patriots up 40-39 heading to the final period.
 
A three-point play by Lee with 6:04 left in the game gave the Patriots the lead for good at 45-43.  A left-corner jump shot by freshman guard Sydney Turner extended the Francis Marion advantage to 47-43, before Harris eventually rallied the Bulls to within one at 49-48.
 
Francis Marion held an 11-4 edge in second-chance points, and the Patriots forced 21 turnovers.
 
Oliver dished out a pair of assists to pass former Patriot guard Kim Slawson for eighth place on that FMU career list with 371.
 
 
12/04/23 7:00 pm at Charlotte, NC
FRANCIS MARION 54, JOHNSON C. SMITH 48
FRANCIS MARION (3-4)
Lauryn Taylor 5-16 5-6 16; Kiana Lee 4-15 3-5 11; Trinity Adams 3-5 2-2 9;
Aniyah Oliver 2-4 2-2 7; Sydney Turner 3-4 0-0 6; MacKenzie Feagin 1-2 0-0
3; Jada Richards 1-4 0-0 2; MiLeia Owens 0-2 0-0 0; Trinity Delaney 0-4 0-0
0; Nevaeh Farmer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 12-15 54.
JOHNSON C. SMITH (1-4)
Ciara Harris 8-16 2-5 20; Betsey Burnett 4-10 0-0 11; Queen Ruffin 2-4 1-1
6; Lynese Johnson 1-2 2-2 4; Kamryn  Williamson 1-2 0-0 3; Kelis  Carmon 1-6
0-0 2; Najah  Lane 1-8 0-0 2; Arrianna Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0; Alexis Daley-Ellis
0-5 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 5-8 48.
Francis Marion................   16   15    9   14  -   54
Johnson C. Smith...........   12   12   15    9  -   48
3-point goals--Francis Marion 4-13 (Trinity Adams 1-2; Aniyah Oliver 1-1;
Lauryn Taylor 1-3; MacKenzie Feagin 1-1; Jada Richards 0-1; Kiana Lee 0-5),
Johnson C. Smith 7-19 (Betsey Burnett 3-6; Ciara Harris 2-7; Queen Ruffin
1-2; Kamryn  Williamson 1-1; Alexis Daley-Ellis 0-1; Najah  Lane 0-1; Lynese
Johnson 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Johnson C. Smith-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 32 (Lauryn Taylor 11), Johnson C. Smith 33 (Ciara
Harris 10). Assists--Francis Marion 11 (Kiana Lee 4), Johnson C. Smith 11
(Najah  Lane 4). Total fouls--Francis Marion 7, Johnson C. Smith 17.
Technical fouls--None. A-89