FLORENCE, S.C. – Trailing by 20 points in the second half, Clayton State (6-6, 3-3 PBC) rallied to within five in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback as Francis Marion (8-3, 5-1 PBC) held on for a 74-66 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, January 6.
 
Freshman guard Tatiana Foster (Atlanta, Ga.) led the Lakers with a strong all-around effort, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, a career-high tying six steals, four rebounds and a pair of assists.  
 
Joining her were junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals and junior guard Aysia Grimsley (Marietta, Ga.) with 12 points and a pair of swipes. Junior guard TaKwana Bland (Williamston, N.C.) rounded things out with 10 points and four boards.
 
The Patriots would waste no time as they surged out to a commanding 20-8 lead over the first 8:26 of the game. Over the final minute-plus of the opening quarter that margin would grow to 13 as FMU closed the frame with a 24-11 advantage.
 
Clayton State would pull to within nine at 30-21 with 7:07 left in the second quarter but it would be just a brief respite. Francis Marion answered with a 16-2 burst to stretch to a 46-23 lead with 1:18 remaining in the half before heading to the break with a 48-30 margin.
 
The third quarter would see the Lakers fall behind by 20 in the opening two minutes but eventually stem the tide and close to within 10 points, 57-47, by the end of the frame. That would be within striking distance as they continued their late game rally to get the deficit to just five points at 60-55 with 5:35 on the clock.
 
A 7-2 stretch by FMU would then extend to 67-57 lead with 3:40 to play. From there, Clayton State would get no closer than eight points as the Patriots wrapped up the 74-66 victory.
 
Abigail Bullock knocked down 8-of-10 free throws to lead Francis Marion with 20 points to go with four assists and a pair of steals while Khai Chandler just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine boards. Shaunice Fulmore added 14 points, five caroms and two blocks and Kristin Tines ripped down a game-high 13 boards to go with six points.
 
The Lakers conclude their brief two game road trip on Wednesday, January 10 when they travel to Georgia College. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
NOTES
Previously, Clayton State had won the last 13 meetings against FMU and had taken 20 of the last 22 … they still lead the all-time series 22-13 ... Foster continues to lead the Peach Belt Conference in steals per game with an average of 3.7.