FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA – Sophomore guard Kiara Croskey drained four free throws in the final 34 seconds to snap a 60-60 deadlock and give Francis Marion University a 64-60 road win over Emmanuel (Ga.) University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion ups its overall mark to 9-7 and improves to 6-2 in conference play. The Patriots will return home to Florence to host an MLK Day match-up with Ferrum College on Monday at 2 p.m.
 
Croskey drained 7-of-14 field goal attempts and was 7-of-8 at the free throw line en route to a game-high 21 points, while registering a game-high five steals.  Sophomore Terriana Gray just missed another double-double as he tallied a career-high equaling 16 points and nine rebounds, while junior Uriah Jennings scored 12 points and handed out four assists.  Freshman center Mariana Moody came off the FMU bench to add eight points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots.
 
Kate Jackson paced Emmanuel (10-7, 5-6) with 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
A pair of buckets by Gray sparked FMU to an early 8-7 lead.  However, Emmanuel responded with a 9-0 run to assume a 16-8 advantage with 4:13 left in the opening quarter.  A three-pointer from the right elbow by Gray capped an 11-2 Patriot spurt to end the period as Francis Marion went up 19-18.
 
FMU freshman forward Jaliyah Benefield canned a base-line jumper to open the second quarter as the Patriots took a 21-18 lead.  Despite being held scoreless for the first 3:46 of the period, the Lions outscored Francis Marion 14-6 to end the first half and carried a 32-27 margin into the locker room at halftime.
 
Francis Marion opened the third quarter with a 9-4 spurt to knot the score at 36-36 following a turn-around jumper by Moody.  Following an Emmanuel lay-in, FMU rattled off a 16-5 run – including four points each by Croskey, Gray, and Moody – to assume the Patriots' largest lead at 52-43.  The Lions scored the final two hoops of the period to draw within 52-47.
 
Emmanuel's momentum carried over into the fourth quarter as a three-pointer by Lizzie Teasley with 4:38 remaining regained the lead at 59-58, but that would prove to be the Lions' final bucket.  A minute later Gray swished two charity tosses to put FMU ahead 60-59.  Emmanuel's Naomi Roberts tied the contest at 60-60 when she made 1-of-2 at the line with 2:15 left.
 
Following a pair of empty possessions by each squad, Croskey drew a shooting foul while driving to the basket and hit two free throws with 34 seconds on the clock to break the tie.  After an Emmanuel miss at the other end, Croskey against swished two free throws with 23 ticks left to seal the victory.
 
FMU forced 20 Emmanuel turnovers and led 15-9 in points off turnovers, and the Patriots led 16-0 in fast-break points.
 
Francis Marion shot 40.3 percent from the floor and was 12-of-16 at the foul line, while the Lions connected on 41.5 percent of their field goal attempts and were 11 of-16 on free throws.