Due West, SC – The Lady Fleet held off a furious rally by the visiting Royals to hold on to a 64-59 victory Thursday night in Conference Carolinas basketball action.

Queens would get on the board first with a jumper by Jazmine Edmonds, but a three pointer by Jean Marie Harris (Lancaster, SC, Indian Land High School) on Erskine’s first possession of the game would give them a lead they would hold for the rest of the first half.   A layup from Harris with just less than three minutes left in the half would push the Fleet lead to 13.  The Royals would finish the half on an 8-0 run to make it a 27-22 game at the half.

Erskine would push their lead to six on a three pointer by Porsha Morgan (Columbus, GA, LaGrange Academy) three minutes into the half, but Queens answer with six straight points to tie the game at 34.  The teams would battle back and forth over the next four minutes, with Erskine never leading by more than two points.  With 11 minutes remaining in the game, Mellissa Thomas would drain two free throws to give the Royals their first lead since their opening possession.  Trailing by one point, Morgan would drive to the basket and make a layup to give Erskine a 45-44 lead they would not relinquish.  Queens would make it a one point game with time running out, but Morgan would score five points in the final 10 seconds to seal the victory for the Fleet.

Morgan shot 10-16 from the floor to lead all scorers with 30 points, while Harris added 12 for the Fleet.  Sarah Myatt led the Royals with 12 points and Thomas chipped in 10.