FLORENCE, SC - It was an emotional Homecoming game and a Conference Carolinas championship game rematch in the Smith University Center as the Francis Marion University women's basketball team prevailed over Belmont Abbey College 70-61 in a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback win on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7). The Patriots trailed by as many as 16 in the third quarter and 14 early in the final period. Four Patriots ended in double-digit scoring as FMU outscored BAC 31-8 in the fourth quarter.
With this triumph, the Patriots improved their overall record to 14-7 and 11-2 in conference play, while the Crusaders dropped to 16-5 and 11-3. Francis Marion is back in action on Tuesday at home against Chowan University with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
Key contributors in the victory included sophomore guard
Kiara Croskey, who poured in 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting and was 9-of-10 at the line, while adding eight rebounds and four steals. Junior guard
Uriah Jennings followed with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and six boards.
FMU sophomore
Terriana Gray chipped in 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, while freshman center
Mariana Moody added 11 points and two blocks to round out the effort.
Francis Marion endured a slow opening quarter as early turnovers helped Belmont Abbey jump out to a 6-0 start. FMU answered with a brief push when Jennings converted a layup and later drilled a three-pointer, but BAC quickly countered. Jennings continued to carry the Patriots during a brief 4-0 run that cut the deficit to 16-9. Gray knocked down a late three, but the Patriots still trailed at the end of the first 23-13.
Despite being down, Francis Marion continued to respond in the second quarter with efforts coming from Croskey (six points) and a fast-break lay-in from Moody at 2:46 that brought the score to a four-point difference (29-24). Two free throws from sophomore guard
Jordan Mintz left FMU trailing at the half 35-28.
To open the third, Jennings scored five quick points on a layup, free throw, and a fast-break finish off a steal to pull the Patriots within six at 39-33. Croskey drained a couple of free throws to make it 43-35, but FMU suffered through a nearly three-minute scoring drought. The deficit swelled to 53-37 before Croskey converted a layup off a Crusader mishap, making it 53-39 at the end of the third period.
Just when victory looked out of reach in the fourth, the Patriots rose to the occasion. Early on, Croskey kick-started the comeback with a put-back layup, then teamed with Gray and Moody to fuel a 10-0 FMU run to draw within 55-51. Gray drained two free throws with 3:51 left, before Mintz buried a three-pointer from the right corner at the 3:09 mark to gain the first FMU lead of the game at 58-57.
It was déjà vu for Mintz on the next possession as she drilled another three from deep with 2:18 left that gave Francis Marion a four-point cushion (61-57). Moody continued the surge with a layup and free throw to stretch the margin to seven (64-57). Croskey, Jennings, and Moody would soon ice the game with free throws in the final seconds, finishing off the 70-61 victory.
As for team comparisons, the Patriots shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the field in the final 10 minutes and made 13-of-17 free throws. BAC in the final quarter shot only 3-of-12 from the floor and committed 10 turnovers.
Overall, Francis Marion was 37.3 percent from the floor and 22-of-31 from the line, while Belmont Abbey also went 37.3 percent from the field and hit 20-of-23 free throw attempts.
