FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore point guard Kiara Croskey scored 23 points to lead three Patriots in double figures as Francis Marion University led wire-to-wire in a 75-54 win over local-rival UNC Pembroke, Wednesday evening (Jan. 7) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball play.
 
Francis Marion improves to 7-6 overall and 4-1 in conference play, while the Braves drop to 3-9 and 3-2.  It was the Patriots' 11th consecutive win over the Braves in Florence.  FMU will host Young Harris College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Croskey came within two points of her career high, while handing out a career-high equaling nine assists, collecting four steals, and grabbing five rebounds.  She was 9-of-9 at the free throw stripe, equaling the 10th-best single-game perfect effort in program history.
 
FMU sophomore forward Terriana Gray scored a career-high 16 points, while junior guard Uriah Jennings scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high equaling eight rebounds.  Junior center Jasmine Grant added nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds.  The conference leader in blocked shots, Grant swatted away seven UNCP shots.
 
Junior guard Natalie Evington came off the UNCP bench to lead the Braves with 14 points, including four three-pointers.
 
Francis Marion scored the game's first three buckets and never trailed.  A floater in the lane by Croskey pushed the margin to 12-4 enroute to a 17-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
After the Braves scored the opening basket of the second period, Francis Marion responded with a 7-0 spurt that resulted in a 24-12 margin.  Freshman center Mariana Moody capped the run with a fast-break three-point play off a feed from Gray.  UNC Pembroke hit two free throws in the final second to draw within 38-30 at halftime.
 
Five straight points from Jennings to start the third quarter swelled the margin to 43-30.  The Braves responded with five consecutive points to get the lead back under double figures, but a 6-0 sport to end the quarter gave the Patriots a 55-41 advantage.
 
Five points from Croskey and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Mintz pushed the lead to 21 points (63-42) early in the fourth quarter and the Patriots were not seriously threatened again.
 
Francis Marion connected on 47.5 percent of its field goal attempts and was 18-of-21 at the charity stripe.  The Patriot defense held UNCP to 30.2 percent shooting from the floor, while the Braves hit 12-of-16 free throws.
 
The Patriots held a commanding 23-7 edge in points-off-turnovers and led 46-20 in points-in-the-paint.