SPARTANBURG, SC –  A game-opening 13-2 spurt propelled top-seeded and 21st-ranked Francis Marion University to a convincing 78-44 win over fifth-seeded Young Harris College, Saturday afternoon (March 8) in the semifinals of the Atlantic Casualty Insurance Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
Francis Marion, winners of 10 straight, improve to 23-5 and advance to Sunday's championship game against second-seeded Belmont Abbey College, a 64-54 winner over Chowan University in the second semifinal game.  The title game will tip off at 1 p.m. inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on the campus of Wofford College.
 
Senior forward Kiana Lee, a third-team All-Conference pick, led the Patriots with 18 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Kennedi Simmons scored 14 points off the bench.  Simmons drained 4-of-6 shots from three-point range. 
 
Point guard Kiara Croskey, the conference's Freshman of the Year, tallied 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double.  First-team All-Conference selection Trinity Adams registered 12 points, nine rebounds, and a team-high four assists.
 
Junior guard Kamryn Bates led Young Harris (22-9) with 10 points.
 
Playing for the first time in 10 days, Francis Marion came out pressing full court.  That combined with shot making meant the Patriots never trailed.  A three-pointer by Lee on the first possession ignited the 13-2 run to start the contest. After a Mountain Lion free throw, FMU then scored seven straight, capped by a three-pointer by Simmons, to take a 20-3 advantage with 3:09 left in the first quarter.  The margin was 22-9 when the period ended as the Mountain Lions were held to 4-of-16 shooting over the opening 10 minutes.
 
Young Harris scored the opening hoop of the second quarter, but Francis Marion responded with a 9-0 run that included seven points by Lee to assume a 31-11 lead.  Another 9-0 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Simmons, built a 42-15 margin with 2:27 left before halftime.  A pull-up jumper by Croskey that beat the halftime buzzer doubled up the Mountain Lions 46-23 at intermission.
 
A fast-break lay-in by Simmons, who now stands only 14 points shy of 1,000 for her career, extended the lead to 56-25 near the midway point of the third period.  Young Harris closed the quarter with a 12-0 run to trim the deficit to 19 points at 56-37.
 
The Patriots answered that threat with a 13-0 spurt to open the final period.  That run included eight points from Adams.  The final score accounted for the largest margin.
 
During the contest, Lee climbed three rungs on the FMU career rebounding list to 27th with 538 boards.
FMU forced 20 Mountain Lion turnovers that were converted into 15 points, and a 50-40 rebounding advantage translated into a 19-8 edge in second-chance points.
 
Francis Marion shot 38.0 percent from the field, including 10-of-27 from behind the three-point arc, and was 14-of-20 at the free throw stripe.  Young Harris was held to 26.7 percent shooting and was only 9-of-12 at the foul line.