FLORENCE, SC – Junior point guard Aniyah Oliver scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to help lead Francis Marion University to a 68-56 victory over Emmanuel College, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (17-6, 15-2), seventh in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Region rankings, extends its winning streak to 15 contest, equaling the fourth-longest streak in program history and extending the fourth-longest active streak in Division II women's basketball. The second-place Patriots are now one game out of first place in the conference standings.
 
The win secures a first-round bye for the Patriots in the upcoming conference tournament.
 
FMU will hit the road for its final away contest of the regular season against Barton College on Wednesday (Feb. 15) at 5 p.m., before returning to the Walter D. Smith University Center to host North Greenville University on Saturday (Feb. 18) at 2 p.m.
 
The two-time reigning conference Player of the Week, FMU junior center Lauryn Taylor scored 16 points and hauled in eight rebounds to join Oliver for team scoring honors.  Oliver, ranked 12th nationally in assists per game, dished out a game-high six assists against the Lions. In the process, she moved past Jennifer Puckett for 13th position on the FMU career assists list with 329.
 
FMU senior forward Jasmine Stanley supplied 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while bringing down a team-high nine rebounds. Freshmen forward Trinity Adams posted eight points, five rebounds, and a season-high five steals.
 
Sophomore guard Abby Crawford scored 15 points, while senior center Jeanetta Elder registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Emmanuel (11-9, 10-6). 
 
The Patriots scored seven straight to open the first quarter and would hold the lead for the entire contest. FMU, which hit its first five field goal attempts, would eventually jump up by 10 after an Oliver three-pointer at 12-2 with 7:37 on the clock. The Lions managed to pull back within three after scoring seven straight, but FMU would respond with nine straight to lead 21-9 heading into the second quarter. Stanley would score eight of her 15 in the first quarter on 4-of-4 shooting.

An Adams' jump shot gave FMU its largest scoring run of 11 and largest lead of the half at 23-9. Emmanuel then scored eight straight to cut the Francis Marion lead down to six points after back-to-back baskets from Elder at 25-19 with 5:58 left in the half. The Patriots quickly scored four straight to boost themselves back to a double-digit lead at 32-19 with 4:29 on the clock. FMU led 34-21 at halftime after keeping Emmanuel cold from three-point land, as the Lions shot 1-of-12.
 
FMU came out of halftime and secured its largest lead of the game of 17 points after a second-chance lay-up by sophomore guard Jada Richards with 6:26 left in the third quarter. The Lions managed to slice into the Patriot's lead after a 9-2 run and cut the deficit to six points at 46-40 with 50 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Patriots pulled the lead back up to 10 before a Lion layup gave FMU an eight-point lead at 50-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Francis Marion kicked off the fourth quarter with a layup from Adams and a three-pointer from Oliver to jump ahead by 13 at 55-42 with 8:23 on the clock. A 12-2 run by the Lions with 2:20 left in the contest cut the Patriot lead to three points at 57-54.
 
FMU's Taylor scored four straight points – a turn-around jumper and two free throws – to extend the Patriot advantage to 61-54 with 1:21 remaining in the game. Two free throws by the Lions brought the deficit to five at 61-56 before Francis Marion scored seven straight, including five from Oliver, to ultimately close out the contest 68-56. 
 
The Patriots shot 38.6 percent from the floor, while going 5-of-12 from behind the three-point arc. FMU knocked down 19-of-25 from the charity stripe. The Lions were held to 30.2 percent from the floor and were locked down behind the arc, shooting only 3-of-20, while sinking 15-of-17 free throws.

 
 
02/11/23 2:00 pm at Florence, SC
FRANCIS MARION 68, EMMANUEL (GA) 56
EMMANUEL (GA) (11-9, 10-6)
Abby Crawford 4-11 6-8 15; Jeanetta Elder 6-17 2-2 14; Sydney Wyatt 4-13 4-4
14; Jazmin Allen 3-11 1-1 7; Amia Brown 1-5 2-2 4; Makenzie Caldwell 1-1 0-0
2; Ade'Jah James 0-0 0-0 0; Addie Penick 0-1 0-0 0; Deshona  Gaither 0-1 0-0
0; Macy Passmore 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-63 15-17 56.
FRANCIS MARION (17-6, 15-2)
Lauryn Taylor 5-12 6-8 16; Aniyah Oliver 4-10 5-5 16; Jasmine Stanley 6-9
3-4 15; Trinity Adams 2-8 4-4 8; Scarlett Gilmore 3-5 0-2 7; Jada Richards
1-3 1-2 3; Kiana Lee 1-10 0-0 3; MiLeia Owens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 19-25 68.
Emmanuel (GA)...............    9   12   21   14  -   56
Francis Marion................   21   13   16   18  -   68
3-point goals--Emmanuel (GA) 3-20 (Sydney Wyatt 2-6; Abby Crawford 1-6;
Jazmin Allen 0-3; Amia Brown 0-1; Addie Penick 0-1; Deshona  Gaither 0-1;
Macy Passmore 0-2), Francis Marion 5-12 (Aniyah Oliver 3-5; Scarlett Gilmore
1-1; Kiana Lee 1-3; Trinity Adams 0-1; Lauryn Taylor 0-2). Fouled
out--Emmanuel (GA)-None, Francis Marion-None. Rebounds--Emmanuel (GA) 43
(Jeanetta Elder 10), Francis Marion 37 (Jasmine Stanley 9).
Assists--Emmanuel (GA) 8 (Amia Brown 3), Francis Marion 17 (Aniyah Oliver
6). Total fouls--Emmanuel (GA) 22, Francis Marion 17. Technical
fouls--FMU-Aniyah Oliver. A-247