SPARTANBURG, SC – Francis Marion University outscored Converse University 18-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 69-54 road win and the squad's eighth straight victory, Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 17) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion improves to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play, it best start in nine seasons, dating back to the 2015-16 NCAA Tournament squad that opened 9-0.  The Patriots, who are among the other schools receiving votes in this week's WBCA Top 25 poll, will step out of conference play for their final pre-New Year's contest as FMU plays at USC Aiken on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
 
Senior guard Jada Richards led three Patriots in double digits with 16 points, while dishing out five assists and coming up with four steals.  Junior Trinity Adams added 14 points and three steals, while sophomore 6-0 center Trinity Delaney posted her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Jordan Brown and Andrea Gutierrez Ciordia led Converse (3-7, 1-3) with 13 points apiece, while Elisa Sole' Sanchez and Alisa Davenport each tallied 12 points.
 
After several early lead changes, Francis Marion took the lead for good with a 14-1 run to close the first quarter.  That spurt resulted in a 23-11 advantage.
 
Converse responded with a 14-4 spurt to open the second period that drew the Valkyries to within 27-25.  However, Sole' Sanchez picked up her third foul and had to head to the bench.  FMU scored the next eight points and headed to the locker room at halftime holding a 35-27 lead.
 
The Valkyries got to within three points on three occasions in the third period, but five straight points by Delaney fueled a 7-0 run that put FMU up 51-41.  Converse countered with the final two hoops of the quarter to make it a 51-45 margin as the teams headed to the final period.
 
After trading buckets to open the final 10 minutes, Richards and Adams heavily contributed to an 11-3 run that pushed the margin to 64-50 with 5:11 remaining.  After a pair of Converse buckets, Kennedi Simmons drained a three-pointer and Delaney scored on a stick-back hoop to produce FMU's largest lead – and the game's final score – at 69-54.
 
The Patriot forced 25 Converse turnovers that were converted into 23 points.  FMU connected on 44.3 percent of its field goal attempts, including 5-of-16 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, and was 10-of-15 at the free throw line.  Francis Marion held the Valkyries to 39.0 percent shooting and Converse was only 2-of-8 at the charity stripe.