WILSON, NC – Six Patriots landed in double-figures to boost Francis Marion University, and the Patriots nailed 23-of-26 free throw attempts, to capture a come-from-behind 73-68 win over Barton College 73-68, Wednesday night (Feb. 15) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (18-6, 16-2), fifth in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Region rankings, extends its winning streak to 16, now the fourth-longest streak in program history and extending the fourth-longest active streak in Division II women's basketball. The second-place Patriots remain one game out of first place in the conference standings.
 
FMU returns to its home at the Walter D. Smith University Center to host North Greenville University on Saturday (Feb. 18) at 2 p.m. for homecoming weekend.
 
The three-time reigning conference Player of the Week, FMU junior center Lauryn Taylor, led the Patriots with 15 points. Taylor passed former Patriot guard Sherer Gordon for 28th place on the Patriot career scoring list with 1,090 points.
 
Junior point guard Aniyah Oliver, ranked 12th nationally in assists per game, dished out a game-high nine assists and in the process moved past Lynette Mickle for the 10th position on the FMU career assists list with 338. Oliver recorded 14 points and two steals as well.
 
FMU senior forward Jasmine Stanley grabbed her sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while freshmen forward Trinity Adams posted 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and shot 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Jada Richards posted 11 points and blocked three shots, while senior guard Scarlett Gilmore also scored 11 points in only 14 minutes of action.
 
Junior guard Lauren Walker scored 20 points and junior guard Payton Sutton supplied 12 points and eight assists for Barton College (8-16, 8-9). 
 
Adams knocked down two from the charity stripe to tie the game at 63-63 before Barton jumped back up to a three-point lead with 2:35 remaining. Two layups for the Patriots by Stanley and Taylor gave FMU the lead back at 67-66 with 1:35 to go, before the Bulldogs hit the go-ahead basket at the charity stripe to lead 68-67 with just over a minute left.
 
Oliver converted a jumper in the lane to give FMU a 69-68 lead with 1:14 on the clock and sealed the win with four makes from the line over the final 23 seconds.
 
The Patriots held a 7-6 lead with 6:20 on the clock in the first quarter before the Bulldogs barked back with a nine-point run to go ahead 15-7 with just under four minutes remaining. The Patriots outscored the Bulldogs 13-6 over the last four minutes, including Taylor and Gilmore combining for 13 of the last 14 points, to tie the score at 21-21 entering the second quarter.
 
Francis Marion would not give up the lead the rest of the half, shooting 7-of-11 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe in the second quarter. Stanley scored eight of her 12 in the second and led to the Patriots grabbing their largest lead of the game at 44-34 with seven seconds before halftime.  The margin was 44-37 at intermission.
 
After the Bulldogs scored 22 in the third quarter and reclaimed the lead at 56-54 with 2:15 on the clock, the Patriots would storm back in the fourth quarter to avoid the upset. Francis Marion faced a five-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter and two Adams free throw makes quickly cut the Barton lead to three at 59-56. Back-and-forth exchanges eventually led to the Patriots shrinking the gap to two points at 63-61 after a Richards three-pointer.
 
The Patriots shot 40 percent from the floor, including going 6-of-22 from behind the three-point arc.  The Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent from the floor, including 7-of-19 from behind the three-point arc, while hitting 9-of-12 free throws.
 
 
02/15/23 5:00 pm at Wilson, NC
FRANCIS MARION 73, BARTON 68
FRANCIS MARION (18-6, 16-2)
Lauryn Taylor 5-11 4-4 15; Aniyah Oliver 2-6 9-10 14; Jasmine Stanley 6-9
0-0 12; Jada Richards 4-10 1-2 11; Scarlett Gilmore 3-6 3-4 11; Trinity
Adams 2-11 6-6 10; Janiyah Hagood 0-2 0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-0 0-0 0; Alexis
Sexton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 23-26 73.
BARTON (8-16, 8-9)
Lauren Walker 8-16 3-4 20; Payton Sutton 5-8 0-0 12; Cierra Revelle 4-11 0-0
11; Lauren Mingo 4-8 2-2 10; Nyah Wilkins 3-6 1-2 7; Leila Copeland 1-3 1-2
4; Skylar Quillet 0-1 2-2 2; Kayla Byrne 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-54 9-12 68.
Francis Marion...........   21   23   10   19  -   73
Barton........................   21   16   22    9  -   68
3-point goals--Francis Marion 6-22 (Jada Richards 2-8; Scarlett Gilmore 2-4;
Aniyah Oliver 1-3; Lauryn Taylor 1-2; Janiyah Hagood 0-1; Trinity Adams
0-4), Barton 7-19 (Cierra Revelle 3-8; Payton Sutton 2-2; Leila Copeland
1-2; Lauren Walker 1-5; Skylar Quillet 0-1; Lauren Mingo 0-1). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-None, Barton-Lauren Mingo. Rebounds--Francis Marion 34
(Jasmine Stanley 12), Barton 29 (Nyah Wilkins 7; Lauren Mingo 7).
Assists--Francis Marion 19 (Aniyah Oliver 9), Barton 17 (Payton Sutton 8).
Total fouls--Francis Marion 12, Barton 18. Technical fouls--None. A-200