FLORENCE, S.C. - Freshman Katherine Kiefer's 16-foot jump shot missed at the final horn enabling 21st-ranked Clayton State University to escape with a 68-67 Peach Belt Conference victory over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25) in women's action.

 

Clayton State improves to 23-4 overall and 17-3 in the PBC, and the Lady Lakers will hold the No. 1 seed in next week’s Peach Belt Conference Tournament at Lander University in Greenwood. The Patriots fall to 11-15 and 9-11. Both teams will play in the tournament quarterfinals on Thursday: Clayton State at 1 p.m. and Francis Marion at either 3 or 5 p.m.

 

Freshman guard Kirby Marsh led FMU with a career-high 22 points, including a spectacular first-half shooting performance. The 5-6 Lynchburg, Va., native hit all six of her field goal attempts in the opening half, all from beyond the three-point arc. The six treys equaled the second-highest single-game total in FMU history.

 

FMU senior forward Danielle Moore added 20 points in her final home game, and in the process passed former center Cassandra Bishop for 14th place on the FMU career scoring list with 1,255 points. Sophomore forward Shonelle Downer added 10 points and nine rebounds before fouling out.

 

Junior forward Crystal Brown paced Clayton State with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Shelcey Harp scored 14 points, Sharon Wiles 12, and Jasmine Patterson 11. Harp pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

 

Behind the play of Marsh, FMU streaked to a 44-32 halftime lead. The Patriots shot 55.6 percent in the opening 20 minutes, including seven-of-seven from three-point range, and Francis Marion made seven-of-eight free throws.

 

The second half would be a different story as the Patriots struggled to score, shooting 33.3 percent, and missing six-of-seven free throws.

 

When Marsh scored on a layup 46 seconds after intermission, FMU led 46-32. The Lady Lakers scored the game’s next 13 points, including six by Brown, to cut the deficit to 46-45 with 14:09 remaining.

 

After the two teams traded the lead, a layup by Kiefer with 7:32 left pushed the Francis Marion margin back to five points at 57-52. A three-pointer by point guard Brittany Young gave Francis Marion a 60-54 lead with 5:50 remaining. Clayton State rallied and tied the score at 64-64 when Brown made one-of-two free throws with 2:28 left.

 

Following an FMU miss, Brown scored on a layup to put the Lady Lakers up 66-64. On FMU’s next possession, the Patriot got off three shots, but failed to score, and two free throws by Harp further pushed the Clayton State lead to 68-64 with 12 ticks left. FMU reserve Renee Guilliams drained a long three-pointer with two seconds left to cut the deficit to 68-67. Clayton State’s Patterson was called for a foul on the inbounds pass allowing FMU one last chance for the upset, but Kiefer’s shot was no good as the horn sounded.

 

Clayton State held an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points, while also outscoring the Patriots 21-8 at the charity stripe.