DUE WEST, SC – Sophomore forward Trinity Adams keyed a 27-point first-quarter explosion as Francis Marion University cruised to a 69-48 road win over Erskine College, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
FMU improves to 13-5 overall and 8-1 in conference play with its seventh consecutive win.  The Patriots will play host to Chowan University on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
 
Junior forward Kiana Lee led FMU with 16 points and seven rebounds, while junior Jada Richards tallied 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers.  Adams finished with 10 points, all of which came in the opening five minutes of the contest.  Both Lee and Adams pilfered three steals apiece.
 
Freshman center Trinity Delaney added 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench, narrowly missing her second career double-double.  FMU leading scorer and rebounder Lauryn Taylor was held to six points and nine rebounds in limited action, snapping her streak of 11 consecutive double-doubles.
 
Shanece Mitchell led Erskine (3-15, 1-9) with 14 points, while Anzya Cook chipped 10 points and six assists.
 
Senior point guard Aniyah Oliver nailed a three-pointer off the opening jump ball and the for the sixth time during their winning streak, the Patriots would never trail.  Five straight points from Adams quickly expanded the margin to 8-2.  A fast-break lay-in by Taylor pushed the lead to 21-9 with 4:35 left in the opening quarter.  The period would end with FMU holding a 27-16 advantage.
 
A three-pointer by Richards gave the Patriots a 32-17 lead early in the second quarter.  However, the Flying Fleet rallied to trim the margin to 34-26 after Cook drained a three-pointer with 4:45 left before halftime.  FMU responded by scoring the final 10 points of the half – six by Lee and four by Delaney – to grab a 44-26 lead at intermission.
 
A brief flurry by Erskine cut the lead to 14, but Richards scored eight in a row for FMU as the Patriots went up 54-34.  Two free throws by Delaney gave the Patriots a 23-point margin 58-35 as the third period ended.
 
A lay-up by Lee to open the fourth quarter gave FMU the first of two 25-point leads, which would be the Patriots' largest of the contest.
 
Francis Marion shot 37.3 percent from the floor and made 20-of-24 free throws, while holding the Flying Fleet to 27.1 percent shooting.  Erskine hit 13-of-33 attempts from the foul line.
 
Oliver handed out a pair of assists to take sole possession of sixth place on the Patriot career list with 416.
 
 
01/27/24 2:00 pm at Due West, SC
FRANCIS MARION 69, ERSKINE 48
FRANCIS MARION (13-5, 8-1)
Kiana Lee 6-11 4-4 16; Jada Richards 5-6 2-2 15; Trinity Adams 3-11 3-4 10;
Trinity Delaney 3-5 4-4 10; Lauryn Taylor 2-7 2-4 6; Sydney Turner 0-2 4-4
4; Aniyah Oliver 1-6 0-0 3; Nevaeh Farmer 1-5 1-2 3; Sommer Joseph 1-2 0-0
2; Lauren Brokken 0-1 0-0 0; KiMyah Foggie 0-0 0-0 0; Gabby Evans 0-0 0-0 0;
MacKenzie Feagin 0-3 0-0 0; MiLeia Owens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 20-24 69.
ERSKINE (3-15, 1-9)
Shanece Mitchell 7-11 0-0 14; Anzya Cook 3-16 2-2 10; Janelle Carter 3-12
3-4 9; Alexis Burce 1-7 2-2 4; Reilly Ward 1-4 0-0 3; Savannah Cannon 0-5
3-6 3; Aricka Moore 1-1 0-0 2; Chelsey Eison 0-0 2-2 2; Ianna Odulaja 0-0
1-4 1; Albany Wilson 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 16-59 13-22 48.
Francis Marion...........   27   17   14   11  -   69
Erskine.......................   16   10    9   13  -   48
3-point goals--Francis Marion 5-18 (Jada Richards 3-3; Trinity Adams 1-4;
Aniyah Oliver 1-4; Sydney Turner 0-1; Nevaeh Farmer 0-1; MacKenzie Feagin
0-2; Kiana Lee 0-3), Erskine 3-19 (Anzya Cook 2-6; Reilly Ward 1-4; Alexis
Burce 0-4; Savannah Cannon 0-3; Albany Wilson 0-1; Janelle Carter 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Erskine-Janelle Carter. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 43 (Trinity Delaney 9; Lauryn Taylor 9), Erskine 39 (Janelle Carter
11). Assists--Francis Marion 9 (Aniyah Oliver 2; MiLeia Owens 2), Erskine 7
(Anzya Cook 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 19, Erskine 21. Technical
fouls--Francis Marion-Trinity Delaney. A-121