FLORENCE, SC – Despite featuring three players in double-figures on Wednesday night (Feb. 25), the Francis Marion University women's basketball program suffered a 64-53 loss to Barton College in the regular season finale of Conference Carolinas play at the Smith University Center.

The Patriots finished the 2026 regular season with a 19-9 overall record behind a 16-4 mark in league play. FMU was featured in the Southeast Regional rankings at No. 6 this afternoon following the first-ranked edition released by the NCAA.

Francis Marion has secured the No. 1 overall seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament and will receive a bye to the semifinals on Saturday, March 7, at 5:15 p.m. in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on the campus of Wofford College.

Sophomore guard Terriana Gray scored a team-high 13 points, while converting a perfect six-of-six from the free-throw line. She also added five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 37 minutes. Junior guard Uriah Jennings contributed 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 36 minutes of action. Moody also tallied 11 points with six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 29 minutes. Sophomore guard Kiara Croksey battled foul trouble and finished with eight points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 22 minutes.

Lauren Mingo of Barton (19-9, 15-5) led all scorers with 15 points and helped the Bulldogs claim the No. 2 seed in the league tournament.

Following a slow offensive start for both sides, the Patriots managed to establish a 9-4 advantage with Gray accounting for four points. The Bulldogs responded to cut the deficit to one possession before Jennings scored three unanswered points to pull ahead by a 12-6 margin. Both sides went scoreless over the final 3:13 of the first quarter, as the Patriots held a six-point lead.

Gray and Jennings combined to score nine points to begin the second quarter and extend the FMU lead to 21-14 with 5:47 to go. The Bulldogs answered with a 12-0 rally to grab a 26-21 edge in the closing seconds of the quarter. The Patriots went into the halftime trailing 26-22 following a free-throw by Croskey.

FMU kept the score within a possession for a majority of the third quarter with Barton holding a 34-32 lead with 5:55 left. The Bulldogs scored five unanswered in the final 26 seconds to head into the final quarter with a six-point advantage, 48-42.

In the fourth quarter, Francis Marion mounted an 8-4 run in the opening minutes to close the gap to 52-50. Barton once again responded with four consecutive points before Croskey made a trio of shots from the free-throw line to trail by a 56-53 margin with 2:43 left. The Patriots were unable to score in the final minutes as Barton mounted an 8-0 run to secure the road win, 64-53.

Francis Marion finished the contest shooting 18-of-51 (35.3 percent) from the floor, while converting 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Barton posted a .400 field goal percentage (26-of-65) and made 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs dominated the glass with a 48-30 rebounding advantage with 20 offensive boards that led to 18 second-chance points.