FLORENCE. SC – After being held to only 17 first-half points, Carson-Newman University erupted for 27 points in the third quarter and rode that effort to a 58-54 non-conference win over Francis Marion University, Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 31) in women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (6-5) will resume Conference Carolinas play on Saturday with a road tilt at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
 
Sophomore point guard Kiara Croskey led FMU with 13 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Terriana Gray notched a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
 
Patriot freshman center Mariana Moody made her first career start and tallied nine points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and four blocked shots.  FMU blocked a season-high 10 shots on the defensive end.
 
Senior guard Jennifer Sullivan led the Eagles (9-3) with 20 points.
 
After surrendering the opening bucket of the contest to Carson-Newman, the Patriots scored eight of the game's next nine points to take an early 8-3 advantage.  The margin grew to 13-5 after a three-pointer by junior guard MacKenzie Feagin, and the Patriots would lead 15-9 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Eight consecutive points by the Eagles to start the second period gave Carson-Newman a 17-15 lead.  However, Francis Marion held the Eagles scoreless for the remaining seven minutes of the opening half, while scoring 11 straight points, to claim a 26-17 halftime lead.  The Patriot defensive held Carson-Newman to identical 3-for-19 shooting figures in each of the opening two periods.
 
The Eagles came out hot in the third quarter and made seven of their first nine field goal attempts and quickly erased the deficit with a 16-3 spurt.  The margin later swelled to 44-35 before the Patriots crept back to within five points at the end of the decisive third quarter.
 
A three-pointer early in the final quarter upped the Eagles' margin to 47-39. FMU rallied to within a bucket on two occasions – the final time at 49-47 after a driving lay-up by Croskey with 5:22 left in the contest.  Trailing by four points entering the game's final minute, FMU had three chances to close the gap, but could not convert on the offensive end.
 
Both teams were coming off their Christmas break.  Francis Marion connected 30.6 percent of its field goal attempts, while Carson-Newman shot 29.0 percent from the floor.  Both teams went 14-for-20 at the free throw stripe.