The Georgia Southwestern women's basketball team dropped their second consecutive conference game in a 87-74 loss at No. 18 Francis Marion University on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lady Hurricanes held their own with the 18th-ranked team in the country as the two sides went back-and-forth over the opening 12 minutes of the game. GSW held their last lead (16-15) with 8:21 remaining in the first half.

FMU followed with a 17-5 run to open a 13-point advantage (33-20) and finished the half with a 37-26 lead.

The Lady 'Canes opened the second period with a 22-10 run, capped when Jonneshia Pineda converted the free throw on a three-point play at the 14:29 mark, to cut the Patriot's lead to a single point.

FMU responded with 11 unanswered points to stretch the lead back to 12 (54-42) with 12:51 left in the game.

GSW could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.   

Francis Marion (13-2, 5-1) shot 47.0 percent from the floor (31-for-66) for the game while GSW was a few points behind at 43.5 percent (27-for-62).
 
While the Lady 'Canes picked a season-high 19 steals, they countered that advantage with a season-high 43 turnovers.

The Hurricanes outrebounded FMU (41-39) and swatted away a two more shots (3-1) than the Patriots.

Whitley Wiltz led four Southwestern players finishing in double-digits with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. Terra Branch added 14 points. Tonette Murphy scored 12 and Jessica Bivins posted 11 points. Brittany Reynolds pulled down seven boards.
 
Nicole Mealing finished with 16 points to lead Francis Marion, while her sister Courtney Mealing had 15. Robin Colbert chipped in 14 points and Shannon Singleton-Bates added 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
GSW (7-7, 2-2) returns to the hardwood tomorrow at UNC Pembroke for a 1:30 p.m. game.