YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Khai Chandler scored 19 points as Francis Marion University rallied past Young Harris College for a 72-65 Peach Belt Conference women's basketball game Monday (Dec. 19) afternoon at the YHC Basketball Arena.

It was Education Day as the Mountain Lions welcomed fifth and sixth graders from Hayesville Middle School (Hayesville, N.C.) as well as the entire student body from Towns County Middle School (Hiawassee, Ga.) and Ranger Middle School (Murphy, N.C.).

Francis Marion improved to 5-4 overall and to 1-1 in the league, while the Mountain Lions saw their three-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 5-4 and 1-1. Young Harris breaks for the holidays and will return  to action Jan. 4 when they travel to Savannah, Georgia, for a 5:30 p.m. contest against Armstrong State University.

Young Harris, which limited Francis Marion to just three field goals in the first 10 minutes, used a 10-0 run over the final five minutes of the opening quarter to take a 19-6 lead. The Mountain Lions started the second quarter the same win, using a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 20 points - 28-8 - after Briana Bell connected on a three-point with 8:35 remaining in the half. 

However, the Mountain Lions went cold from the field as they went the final 5:46 of the quarter without a bucket while Francis Marion used a 13-1 run to close out the half as the Patriots trailed 33-27 at the half.

Francis Marion took its first lead of the game at 36-35 on a Briana Burgins layup with 7:56 to play in the third quarter; however, the Mountain Lions scored eight unanswered points to take a 43-36 lead on a layup from Bria Ratliff with 4:11 to go. The Patriots responded by closing to within a point at 47-46 at the end of the quarter. 

Francis Marion, which made 16 free throws (out of 20 attempts), took the lead for good at 56-54 on two Burgins free throws with 7:28 remaining and pushed its advantage to as many as eight points (65-57). Young Harris got as close as four points (67-63) after Bell nailed a three-pointer with 93 seconds remaining, but the Patriots hit five (out of six attempts) free throws to seal the win.

The Patriots held a 51-37 advantage on the glass, while Young Harris scored 23 points off 21 FMU turnovers.

Meredith Tarver led the Mountain Lions with 19 points while Bell added 14 points and eight rebounds. Ratliff nearly recorded a triple-double for Young Harris with 10 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds. The 14 assists set a college record in the NCAA era by a Mountain Lions, surpassing the 13 recorded by Lauren Smith against Converse College during the 2011 season.  Jenny Vernet also recorded a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Sarah Reid added eight points off the YHC bench.

"I can't say enough about how Bria Ratliff played," said YHC head coach Matt Stearsman. "She almost had a triple double and never came out of the game. Jenny (Vernet( was very good and Sarah Reid was solid off the bench as well as Briana Bell. The difference was free throws. They shot 80 percent and we were 8-of-20 (40 percent). You can't beat a good team doing that. It was a game of runs, and they won because they made their free throws and we didn't. That was a good Peach Belt game."

Burgins added 17 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for the Patriots while Shaunice Fulmore added 15 points.