NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Franklin women's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to take the first of their two games in the Music City with a win over St. Mary's College on Monday (Dec. 19) night.
 
Four Grizzlies (5-3) hit double figures in the game, paced by 18 points from sophomore Taylor Cooney. The Grizzlies took control of the game in the third quarter and held off the Belles (7-5) down the stretch for a 79-73 win, giving the Griz four in a row.
 
How it Happened
The Grizzlies took the lead for the first time with 5:38 to go in the first quarter when Maddie Barnes drained a three to make it a 9-7 game. Franklin padded their lead later in the period with an 8-0 run to make it 19-11, but a late push from the Belles cut the lead to 20-16 at the end of the period.
 
The Belles grabbed the lead early in the second but two free throws from Lauryn Bates midway through the quarter put the Grizzlies back in front at 25-24, a lead they would hold the rest of the night. At the half, the Grizzlies held a 35-30 lead and would hold their biggest lead of the game in the third quarter with a three from Kate Breeden that made it 54-42 with less than a minute to go in the period.
 
The Belles charged back to within three points with four minutes to go, but Franklin's defense refused to break and the offense knocked down nine free throws down the stretch to close out the win.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Cooney now has back-to-back 18-point games, and she added six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
-Camiell Perry set a new career-high with 12 points while Sarah O'Day and Jordan Coon each had 11 points.
-Breeden grabbed a season-high seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
-Franklin shot 41.4% (29-for-70) from the field, going 7-for-16 from three and 14-for-20 from the line.
-The Grizzly bench out-scored Belle reserves 34-19.
-Franklin dominated inside, out-scoring the Belles 40-26 in the paint.
 
Up Next
Franklin closes out their Nashville trip with a game on Tuesday (Dec. 20) night against Simpson College. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. eastern time.