PEMBROKE, NC – Sophomore point guard Kiara Croskey scored nine of her game-high 21 points in the final quarter as Francis Marion University rallied for a 62-56 victory over Wingate University, Saturday afternoon (Nov. 15) on the final day of the Conference Carolinas/South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Challenge.  Led by Croskey, FMU outscored the Bulldogs 17-6 over the final 10 minutes.
 
Francis Marion (1-1) returns home to play its home opener against Lenoir-Rhyne University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.  Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students with FMU students admitted free with identification.
 
Croskey was a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw stripe, including six in the final 26 seconds.  The Sumter native also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, canned a trio of three-pointers, handed out four assists, and pilfered four steals.
 
Senior forward Bentlee Chockley added 15 points, six rebounds, and three steals for the Patriots, while junior guard and Florence native MacKenzie Feagin scored 12 points off the bench on four three-pointers.
 
Laura Montiel paced Wingate (1-1) with 14 points and five steals.
 
Wingate came out hot, hitting eight of its first 10 shots, and raced to an 17-7 lead.  The Patriots narrowed the margin slightly to 21-15 at the end of the period.
 
A 6-0 spurt by FMU to open the second quarter quickly knotted the score at 21-21. Buckets by Patriot junior Jasmine Grant and sophomore Terriana Gray gave the Patriots a 34-29 advantage with a minute left in the opening half, and FMU would lead 34-33 as the teams exited for halftime.
 
A three-pointer by FMU senior guard Tyra Myers extended the margin to 39-34 early in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs answered with an 8-0 run to go back ahead.  The Wingate lead was 50-45 as the horn sounded to end the third period.
 
A Bulldog hoop to open the fourth quarter pushed the margin to seven (52-45), but Francis Marion scored the next 10 points – including three-pointers by Chockley and Croskey – to take the lead for good at 55-52.  Wingate pulled to within one at 57-56 with 12 seconds left, but Croskey (4-of-4) and Chockley (2-2) were perfect at the foul line to hold off the Bulldogs.
 
The Patriot defense held Wingate to 3-of-18 shooting in the fourth period.
 
FMU converted 27 Bulldogs turnovers into 24 points.
 
Francis Marion shot 33.3 percent from the floor, including 10-of-25 from behind the arc, and was 14-of-18 on free throws.  Wingate connected on 37.5 percent of its field goal attempts, including only 2-of-14 from long distance, and was 6-of-10 at the free throw line.