BELMONT, NC – Francis Marion University outscored No.20 Belmont Abbey College 52-31 in the second half to rally for a 73-64 victory, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (15-6, 13-2), eighth in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Region rankings, extends its winning streak to 13, now the fifth-longest streak in program history.  The win snaps Belmont Abbey's 15-game winning streak and hands the Crusaders (17-4, 14-1) their first conference loss. 
 
The third-place Patriots are now one-half game out of second and only one game out of first place.  It is the first win for FMU over a ranked opponent since a 61-54 win at 21st-ranked Wingate University to open the 2018-19 season.
 
FMU concludes its 3-game road trip against North Greenville University on Tuesday (Feb. 7) at 5 p.m., before returning to the Smith University Center against Emmanuel College on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 2 p.m.
 
FMU junior center Lauryn Taylor secured her seventh double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore guard Jada Richards posted 13 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Aniyah Oliver ended with nine points and dished out a game-high seven assists. Senior forward Jasmine Stanley, senior guard Scarlett Gilmore, and sophomore guard Kiana Lee each nine points apiece.
 
The Patriots shot only 52.1 percent from the floor, while going 7-of-16 from behind the three-point arc, and were solid at the charity stripe, hitting 16-of-20. The Crusaders shot 35.6 percent from the floor despite shooting 54.54 percent in the first half. They were 8-of-24 from behind the three-point arc, and hit 14-of-17 free throws.
 
Senior guard Taylor Stelley scored 17 points, including 4-of-8 from three-point land, while freshmen guard Cate Schieber recorded 16 points for Belmont Abbey.
 
With the Patriots down 33-21 entering the third quarter, Lee knocked down a free throw, which would spark a 16-0 run to propel the Patriots ahead 37-33 with 6:35 on the clock. During that run, the Patriots were money from behind the arc with Taylor knocking down a trio of three-pointers and Richards flushing in two threes as well. FMU outscored Belmont Abbey 27-12 to take the lead at 48-45 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Opening the fourth quarter, the Crusaders managed to cut the Patriot lead to two points at 52-50 after a three-pointer by Stelley with 7:06 on the clock. After FMU pulled out to a 56-50 lead, Belmont Abbey cut the lead to one point at 56-55 after a pair of free throw makes and another three-pointer from Stelley with 4:24 remaining. This would be the closest Belmont Abbey would get, as a jumper from Oliver and a three-pointer from Gilmore put the Patriots back up by six. The Crusaders sent FMU to the charity stripe to ultimately seal the victory.
 
The Crusaders opened up with an 8-2 start in the first quarter after knocking down two three-pointers, but the Patriots would storm back and cut the deficit to two after a Gilmore layup with 1:55 left. Belmont Abbey pulled away shortly after to lead 15-10 going into the second quarter. The second quarter would be no different for the Crusaders as they picked up their largest lead of the contest at 31-18 with 1:31 remaining in the half.  Belmont Abbey held the 33-21 advantage at intermission.
 
 
02/04/23 2:00 pm at Belmont, NC
FRANCIS MARION 73, BELMONT ABBEY 64
FRANCIS MARION (15-6, 13-2)
Lauryn Taylor 7-9 5-6 22; Jada Richards 5-10 0-0 13; Jasmine Stanley 4-6 1-1
9; Scarlett Gilmore 4-6 0-1 9; Kiana Lee 3-5 3-4 9; Aniyah Oliver 2-6 5-6 9;
Trinity Adams 0-5 2-2 2; Janiyah Hagood 0-1 0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 25-48 16-20 73.
BELMONT ABBEY (17-4, 14-1)
Taylor Stelley 6-11 1-2 17; Cate Schieber 6-15 0-0 16; Catherine Hendershot
3-7 6-7 12; Abigail Crain 3-16 4-4 10; Peyton Nation 2-5 2-2 6; Katie
Bischoping 1-1 0-0 2; Riley James 0-3 1-2 1; Ricky Lesenyego 0-0 0-0 0;
Elfrieda Olsson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 14-17 64.
Francis Marion................   10   11   27   25  -   73
Belmont Abbey.................   15   18   12   19  -   64
3-point goals--Francis Marion 7-16 (Lauryn Taylor 3-3; Jada Richards 3-7;
Scarlett Gilmore 1-3; Aniyah Oliver 0-1; Trinity Adams 0-1; Kiana Lee 0-1),
Belmont Abbey 8-24 (Taylor Stelley 4-8; Cate Schieber 4-11; Abigail Crain
0-3; Riley James 0-1; Catherine Hendershot 0-1). Fouled out--Francis
Marion-None, Belmont Abbey-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 31 (Lauryn Taylor
10), Belmont Abbey 31 (Catherine Hendershot 6). Assists--Francis Marion 13
(Aniyah Oliver 7), Belmont Abbey 14 (Riley James 5). Total fouls--Francis
Marion 17, Belmont Abbey 19. Technical fouls--Francis Marion-Kiana Lee. A-274