FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore guard Kiara Croskey scored a game-high 20 points and tallied eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals to help lead Francis Marion University to a 73-51 victory over visiting Southern Wesleyan University, Monday night (Feb. 23) in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion, now 19-8 overall and 16-3 in conference play, will close out its regular season on Wednesday with a home contest against Barton College at 5:30 p.m.  The Patriots will be looking for their 27th 20-win season in 53 all-time campaigns, while also looking to secure the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
 
Croskey connected on 9-of-15 field goal attempts.  Junior Uriah Jennings and sophomore Terriana Gray each added 13 points, while freshman 6-0 center Mariana Moody chipped in eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Makayla Raines paced Southern Wesleyan (6-21, 4-15) with 11 points.
 
After a cold-shooting opening period, Francis Marion found itself tied 13-13 with the upset-minded Warriors.
 
Southern Wesleyan took a 21-15 lead early in the second quarter, and later led 24-20 with five minutes left until halftime.  FMU responded with an 11-0 run that included six points from Gray to take the lead for good at 31-24.  Two free throws by Gray extended the margin to 35-26 at intermission.
 
A 7-2 spurt to start the third period pushed the margin to 14 points (42-28) after a steal and lay-in by Croskey.  The Warriors pulled to within 44-34, but six straight points by the Patriots resulted in a 50-34 advantage.  A stick-back hoop by Gray and a floater in the lane by Jennings gave Francis Marion a 58-39 lead at the end of the quarter.
 
FMU sophomore guard Jordan Mintz drained a three-pointer to open the final quarter and the lead swelled to 22 points (61-39).  A second-chance bucket by freshman Jaliyah Benefield gave FMU its largest lead at 68-43 with 4:05 remaining and the Patriots cruised to their 10th win in 12 home contests this season.
 
FMU forced 23 turnovers and led 26-7 in points-off-turnovers, while also holding a commanding 42-26 edge in points-in-the-paint and 21-5 in second-chance points.
 
Francis Marion shot 40.8 percent from the floor and was 13-of-20 at the foul line, while the Warriors hit 35.7 percent of their field goal attempts and went 5-of-9 on free throws.