WINGATE, N.C. -- Senior guard Tanetra Barrett made four-of-four free throws in the final 20 seconds to give 14th-ranked Wingate University a hard-earned 58-57 victory over Francis Marion University, Monday night (Dec. 4) in non-conference women's basketball action at Cuddy Arena.

Barrett led Wingate (7-1) with 18 points. Her clutch free throws helped the Bulldogs recover from squandering a 17-point lead with 9:01 remaining in the contest.

FMU sophomore forward Katherine Kiefer, making her first start of the season, led the Patriots (3-5) with 13 points and eight rebounds.  Junior Renee Guilliams added 10 points and seven rebounds.  It was FMU's second straight loss to a nationally ranked opponent.

The Bulldogs led 45-28 on a tip-in by senior center Emily Paffrathwith 9:01 to play in the second half. A three-point field goal by Barrett kept the Wingate lead at 50-34 with 6:31 left in regulation.  Francis Marion then responded with a 21-4 run to take the lead on Kiefer layup with 1:41 to go.  Kiefer's final points of the evening gave the Patriots a 55-54 advantage.  During FMU's furious flurry, Wingate was one-for-five from the floor with five turnovers and six fouls.  Barrett had the team's only field goal during this five-minute stretch, a two-pointer with 2:55 to play.

Kiefer's layup gave the visitors their first lead since the 13:24 mark of the first half. The two teams traded misses after Kiefer's shot, setting the stage for Barrett's heroics from the charity stripe. The 2006 All-American hit two free throws in a one-and-one situation with 20 seconds to go to give Wingate the lead for good at 56-55.  Francis Marion committed a turnover on the other end to give Wingate the ball. The Patriots fouled Barrett again with 12 seconds to go. This week's South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week calmly hit both tries to make the score 58-55.

Kiefer missed a potential game-tying three-point field goal with three seconds left, and Guilliams hit a follow shot with 0.7 seconds to go to account for the game's final points.

Paffrath had 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots for Wingate. Senior forward Kerri Metzker added 15 points for the Bulldogs. Barrett, Paffrath and Metzker shot a combined 21-of-37 from the floor (56.8 percent). The rest of their teammates shot three-of-20 (15.0 percent).

Kiefer, Guilliams and junior center Shavone Mack (7 rebounds) help the Patriots outrebound the Bulldogs 38-31. Mack also blocked four shots for the Patriots.

Neither team could get much going in the first half as the Bulldogs took a 25-20 lead at intermission. Francis Marion shot 26.9 percent in the first half (seven-of-26). The Patriots rallied to shoot 39.3 percent in the second half (11-of-28). Francis Marion hit 17-of-20 free throws for the contest, compared to seven-of-eight for Wingate.

Francis Marion returns to the hardwood on Thursday, Dec. 14, visiting Tusculum College for a 12 p.m. (noon) encounter.