GREENWOOD – Francis Marion guard Danielle Moore scored 22 points and the Lady Patriots used free throws to hold off Lander 66-61 in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action Saturday at Horne Arena.
Francis Marion improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Peach Belt. The Lady Bearcats fell to 3-4, 0-2.
Bryony Crouch led Lander with 16 points, Shatora Irby scored 15 points, and Shaquanta Glaze (pictured) added 11 points including a couple of key baskets down the stretch. Crouch, Irby and Tara Nyikavaranda led the Lady Bearcats with seven rebounds apiece.
Creshenda Singletary added 17 points for the Lady Patriots, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds after Lander had pulled within 64-61. Vanessa Goff scored 10 points and Brittany Young hit four free throws in the final minute. Moore and Singletary shared game-high honors with nine rebounds apiece, while Shonelle Downer had four of Francis Marion's eight blocked shots.
The Lady Patriots used a 13-2 run midway through the second half to build a 51-41 lead over cold-shooting Lander. But Jennifer Hukill hit a 3-pointer and Irby scored to pull the Lady Bearcats within 53-46 with approximately six minutes to go.
Glaze hit a 3-pointer to pull Lander within 56-51 with 4:11 to go, and scored another basket at the 3:21 mark to close the gap to 56-54. But Moore scored to increase the lead back to four and Young hit four free throws to keep Francis Marion ahead.
Irby's basket pulled the Lady Bearcats within 63-59 and Crouch added two free throws to close it to 64-61 in the final seconds, but Lander could get no closer.
The Lady Bearcats stayed close despite a poor first half of shooting. Lander missed 18 of its first 21 shots and watched an early 11-4 lead turn into a 15-13 deficit. Irby's two free throws tied the game at 15 with eight minutes left in the half, and Hukill's 3-pointer gave the Lady Bearcats a 21-19 lead at the 6:40 mark. Crouch's third 3-pointer of the half gave Lander a 30-28 lead with just under two minutes to go.
But behind Moore's 14 points, Francis Marion would take a 31-30 halftime lead. The Lady Bearcats were 7-for-32 shooting in the first half (22 percent), but stayed close by making 12-of-16 free throws. Irby's first-half statistics summed it up for Lander; she was 0-for-7 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the line. The Patriots had a better shooting half making 12-of-27 from the floor (44 percent) but had only six free throw attempts, making five. Lander missed its first four shots of the second half to fall below 20 percent for the game before heating up.
For the game, the Lady Bearcats made 18-of-67 from the floor (27 percent), 19-of-29 from the line (66 percent), and 6-of-21 from 3-point range (29 percent). Francis Marion hit 23-of-53 from the floor (43 percent), 16-of-26 from the stripe (62 percent) and 4-of-13 from behind the arc (31 percent). The Lady Patriots had a 52-39 rebounding edge.
