SPARTANBURG, S.C. – No. 5 Lees-McRae women's basketball earned a trip to the 2026 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship Final with the 76-70 win over No. 1 Francis Marion this evening inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
Nadiya Hairston provided a game-high 28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and two blocks in the Bobcats' victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 5 Lees-McRae –
76, No. 1 Francis Marion – 70
LOCATION: Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, South Carolina
RECORDS: No. 5 Lees-McRae (22-7/15-5); No. 1 Francis Marion (19-10/16-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae carried over the momentum from Friday night and their hot shooting with 11 made three-pointers against Francis Marion.
- Kirsten Watt started the scoring with a triple 31 seconds into tonight's contest and the Bobcats built a 11-1 lead at the 7:33 mark of the first quarter. Lees-McRae led Francis Marion, 21-15, at the end of the opening quarter.
- FMU battled back in the second quarter and cut the lead down to one after free-throw makes from Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Kiara Croskey.
- Francis Marion gained the two-point advantage after a three-point play from Terriana Gray. Watt answered back with another triple as Lees-McRae led 35-34 in the opening stages of the second half.
- Lees-McRae regained the five-point lead off a three-point play from Kaylee Carson, but the Patriots led the Bobcats by two heading into the final stanza.
- Francis Marion then pushed its lead to four points with 4:55 left in regulation. Hairston registered a 9-0 scoring run of her own to give the Bobcats the 71-70 advantage.
- Lees-McRae held off Francis Marion for the remaining minute of the game and earned its first trip to the Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship final since 2003.
- Hairston led all scorers with 28 points and hauled in 11 rebounds in the semifinals. Watt followed with 15 points in 31 minutes of action and Sydney Gueterman tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in tonight's victory.
- The Bobcats shot 42.3% (22-52) from the field with 11 three-pointers and went 21-27 from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae women's basketball will look to earn its first conference title in program history tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. against No. 6 Chowan.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
