Third Time's the Charm for Barton in Conference Carolinas Women’s Basketball Championship Final
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The seventh-ranked and top-seeded Barton Bulldogs are the 2022 Conference Carolinas Women’s Basketball tournament champions for the third time in program history. This was the Bulldogs third straight conference final and fourth in five seasons. They defeated seven-seed Francis Marion whose cinderella run in the tournament came to an end in the 77-58 loss.
For the second straight meeting the Patriots of Francis Marion led the Bulldogs after the first quarter, this time a 15-12 advantage. Five different players scored for Francis Marion in the opening stanza led by Scarlett Gilmore with five.
The upset-minded program from Florence, South Carolina got three the old fashioned way to start the second quarter as Kiana Lee hit a layup and converted the and-1 for a six-point, 18-12 lead. A 7-0 Barton run gave the Bulldogs the one-point advantage, but Lee and Jasmine Stanley hit back-to-back jumpers to make it 22-19 FMU. Barton outscored the Patriots 14-12 over the final 3:43 of the half, but the Patriots held the lead, 34-33.
Lauryn Taylor opened the second half with a turn around jumper to push the lead to three, but Barton went on a 15-4 run and outscored the Patriots 33-15 in the third quarter to take a 66-49 lead. The Bulldogs shot 65 percent (13-for-20) in the quarter including 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the 3-point arc while the Patriots were 6-of-15 (40 percent) from the field and missed their only 3-point attempt. Lauren Walker led the charge for the top-seeded team from Wilson, North Carolina with 12 points in the stanza.
Barton won the fourth quarter, 11-7 to secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
The Bulldogs finished the game 32-of-76 (42.1 percent) from the floor, 5-of-10 (50 percent) from the 3-point arc and 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) from the free throw line while the Patriots shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the field, 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the charity stripe.
Taylor of Francis Marion finished with a game-high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Lee added 13 points for FMU. For the Bulldogs, four players finished in double figures while both Jami Tham and Shanika Peterkin recorded a double double. Both players scored 17 points while Peterkin grabbed 17 rebounds and Tham added 16. Walker added 16 points while Akira Wiggins added 15.
The qualifiers for the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship will be announced during the selection show at 10:00 p.m. tonight at NCAA.com. The Bulldogs earned Conference Carolinas’ automatic bid and will find out their opponent and seed in the Southeast Regional during the show.
2022 Conference Carolinas Women’s Basketball All-Tournament Team
Shanika Peterkin, Barton - Most Outstanding Player
Michelle Gainey, Barton
Akira Wiggins, Barton
Scarlett Gilmore, Francis Marion
Aniyah Oliver, Francis Marion
Destiny Robinson, Chowan
Ayonna Cotten, Mount Olive
2022 Conference Carolinas Women’s Basketball Championship
First Round – Sunday, February 27
#7 Francis Marion defeated #10 North Greenville at King, 76-63
#8 Emmanuel defeated #9 Lees-McRae at UNC Pembroke, 72-57
Second Round – Monday, February 28
#7 Francis Marion defeats #6 King, 87-84
#8 Emmanuel defeats #5 UNC Pembroke, 69-67
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 4 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Chowan def. #8 Emmanuel, 55-47
#7 Francis Marion def. #3 Belmont Abbey, 73-69
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#1 Barton def. #4 Chowan, 76-48
#7 Francis Marion def. #2 Mount Olive, 96-84
Final – Sunday, March 6 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#1 Barton def. #7 Francis Marion, 77-58