WILSON, NC – Junior guard Jada Richards scored a career-high 26 points, 23 of which came in the opening 20 minutes, as Francis Marion University cruised to a 96-68 road win over Barton College, Wednesday night (Feb. 21) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball play.
 
Francis Marion improves to 18-7 overall and 13-3 in league play.  The Patriots will host King University on Saturday at 2 p.m. as part of Homecoming 2024 festivities.  Admission is free.
 
The victory was the 350th career win for FMU head coach Jeri Porter.

Richards connected on 10-of-15 field goal attempts, including 6-of-10 from three-point range.  She also grabbed five rebounds.
 
Sophomore forward Trinity Adams followed Richards with 21 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Kiana Lee tallied 16 points and senior point guard Aniyah Oliver 12 points and seven assists.  Senior center Lauryn Taylor registered 13 points, 14 rebounds, and a career-high seven assists for her 19th double-double of the season – second most in NCAA Division II.
 
Francis Marion shot 48.6 percent from the floor, including a sizzling 12-of-25 from beyond the three-point arc, and was 16-of-21 at the foul line.
 
The Patriot defense forced 15 Barton turnovers and led 20-2 in points-off-turnovers.  FMU also outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-36 and led 15-3 in second-chance points.
 
Lauren Mingo led Barton (7-18, 6-10) with 19 points.
 
Barton scored the game's first five points and led 10-3 after three-and-a-half minutes.  Trailing 15-9, Francis Marion took the lead for good with an 11-0 run that developed into a 16-3 spurt to end the quarter.  Richards accounted for 10 of those points.
 
Adams scored the first five points of the second period as the lead grew to 30-18.  The margin would remain in double digits for the rest of the game.  The Patriots held a 47-33 advantage at halftime behind 23 points from Richards.
 
A 10-0 run by FMU midway through the third quarter pushed the lead to 21 points (59-38) after a three-pointer by Richards.   Francis Marion led 70-49 heading to the fourth quarter and was never threatened.
 
FMU's largest lead was 28 points on three occasions in the final period, including the final score.
 
 
02/21/24 5:00 pm at Wilson, NC
FRANCIS MARION 96, BARTON 68
FRANCIS MARION (18-7, 13-3)
Jada Richards 10-15 0-0 26; Trinity Adams 7-15 3-5 21; Kiana Lee 7-12 2-2
16; Lauryn Taylor 3-10 7-10 13; Aniyah Oliver 3-9 4-4 12; Trinity Delaney
1-3 0-0 2; MiLeia Owens 1-2 0-0 2; Sommer Joseph 1-1 0-0 2; Nevaeh Farmer
1-2 0-0 2; Lauren Brokken 0-0 0-0 0; MacKenzie Feagin 0-0 0-0 0; Sydney
Turner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-70 16-21 96.
BARTON (7-18, 6-10)
Lauren Mingo 6-15 6-7 19; Lauren Walker 6-13 2-2 17; Cierra Revelle 4-6 0-0
12; Nyla Powell 3-12 1-2 7; Erial Owens 2-13 2-2 6; Cyntiah Braden 2-3 1-2
5; Erica McClary 1-1 0-0 2; Jasmine White 0-0 0-0 0; Skylar Quillet 0-2 0-0
0; Payton Sutton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 12-15 68.
Francis Marion...........   25   22   23   26  -   96
Barton........................   18   15   16   19  -   68
3-point goals--Francis Marion 12-25 (Jada Richards 6-10; Trinity Adams 4-7;
Aniyah Oliver 2-4; Nevaeh Farmer 0-1; Lauryn Taylor 0-1; Kiana Lee 0-2),
Barton 8-19 (Cierra Revelle 4-6; Lauren Walker 3-8; Lauren Mingo 1-3; Skylar
Quillet 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Barton-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 44 (Lauryn Taylor 14), Barton 36 (Cierra Revelle
8). Assists--Francis Marion 24 (Lauryn Taylor 7; Aniyah Oliver 7), Barton 14
(Lauren Walker 7). Total fouls--Francis Marion 11, Barton 15. Technical
fouls--None. A-250