WILSON, N.C. – The Barton women's basketball team (5-0, 1-0), ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division II, remained unbeaten on the season with a 65-52 victory over Francis Marion (1-4, 0-3) Tuesday evening at Wilson Gymnasium in the Conference Carolina opener.
Barton senior center and All-American
Shanika Peterkin (Virginia Beach, Va.) came through with a game-high 22 points including 15 in the second half as the Bulldogs outscored the Patriots by a 21-5 margin in the decisive fourth quarter to take the win.
Barton senior guard
Akira Wiggins (Knightdale, N.C.) and sophomore guard
Lauren Walker (Charlotte, N.C.) added 14 points each in the win. Walker connected on four treys and the Bulldogs defense forced the Patriots into 21 turnovers in the triumph as well.
Francis Marion, which shot just 40 percent (21-of-52) from the floor, was led by Zaria Woods (Lancaster, S.C.) with 16 points but the visitors suffered their fourth straight loss.
With the score tied at 51 with 5:57 remaining in the contest, Peterkin gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with a jump shot that started a 7-0 run and the home team never looked back. Peterkin added six blocks to push her career total to 407, a program record, to go along with 12 rebounds.
Barton remains at home to take on Emmanuel (Ga.) on Friday beginning at 5:00 p.m., at Wilson Gymnasium in a league contest while Francis Marion hosts King (Tenn.) on Friday at 5:30 p.m., in a conference game.
