BANNER ELK, NC – Lees-McRae College used an 11-3 run to finish the third period to claim an 80-69 victory over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (6-6, 3-1) will play its first home game of the New Year on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. as the Patriots welcome in local-rival UNC Pembroke.
 
Sophomore point guard Kiara Croskey led the Patriots with 24 points, one shy of her career high, on 10-of-18 shooting.  The Sumter native scored 12 of FMU's 15 points in the final quarter, while also registering five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
 
Sophomore forward Terriana Gray notched her second consecutive double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman forward Jaliyah Benefield posted career highs of 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Kaylee Carson and Nadiya Hairston paced Lees-McRae (7-4, 4-2) with 21 points apiece.
 
Lees-McRae opened the game with a 7-0 run only to have the Patriots match it with their own 7-0 spurt.  Back-to-back three-pointers by the Bobcats then snapped that deadlock.  A three-pointer by Charlotte Torgerson extended the Bobcat advantage to 21-14 before FMU sophomore guard Jordan Mintz canned a three-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer to pull the Patriots within 21-17.
 
Francis Marion opened the second period with an 8-3 spurt to take its first lead at 25-24 following two free throws by freshman center Mariana Moody.  Lees-McRae answered with eight straight points to reassume the lead at 32-25, before the Patriots responded scored six straight points to draw within 32-31.  The Bobcats carried a 35-31 margin into halftime.
 
A layup by Carson gave Lees-McRae a 10-point margin (45-35) two minutes into the third quarter.  Francis Marion put together a 12-2 spurt that knotted the contest at 47-47 after a steal and lay-in by Croskey with 4:20 left in the period. Two free throws by Croskey later tied the game at 51.  However, the Bobcats used their decisive 11-3 run to forge a 62-54 edge at the end of the period.
 
Croskey scored on a jumper to open the final quarter, but Lees-McRae answered with six straight points and the Patriots never seriously threatened again.
 
Francis Marion shot 42.9 percent from the floor and was 12-of-22 at the free throw stripe, while the Bobcats connected on 49.1 percent of the field goal attempts and were 21-of-26 on free throws.