The Furman Women’s Basketball team went on the road Friday, Feb. 9 with a solid three victories in their last four games. The game against Western Carolina marked the Paladin’s first of four consecutive games on the road.
Furman, who was 9-12, 5-7 SoCon before the game on Feb. 9 game, lost to Western Carolina earlier in the season on Jan 23. The game went into a heart pounding triple overtime, but Western Carolina managed to pull ahead 88-83.
The Western Carolina game saw the Paladins avenge that defeat with another breathtakingly close final score of 46-45. Furman dominated the first half with a 57.1 shot percent and a 29-21 lead.
The second half of the game opened with the Western Carolina Catamounts outscoring the Paladins.
The Catamounts made 12 shots in the first six and a half minutes. In that time Furman only connected with four baskets, tying the game with a score of 33-33.
Five minutes later the Paladins were up 40-35. These much needed points for the Lady Paladins came from a beautiful three-point shot by sophomore Brittany Hodges and a jump shot by freshman Holli Wilkins.
Unfortunately, the Western Carolina Catamounts retook the lead with 6:24 left in the final half. Their 8-0 rally put the score 43-40.
Two layups, one by Hodges and the other by Patrice Butler, gave the Paladins back the lead. Furman pulled away as Wilkins scored off of an assist by Brigid Morrissey. This marked Morrissey’s eleventh assist of the game.
Western Carolina came within a point of the Paladins with 2:48 left, but Furman held off the Catamounts to claim the very close victory.
Senior Teshia Griswold led the Paladins with ten points while Wilkins racked up another eight during the game. Sarah Durdaller and Hodges made seven rebounds each.
Furman ended the game with a 42.6 shot percentage while Western Carolina managed a 33.3 percentage.
Appalachian State claimed the victory over Furman in the following match, on Feb. 11.
The Mountaineers led the game 68-58. Still, the Paladins did not make it easy for them.
Four members of the team scored in the double digits. Griswold, Morrissey, and Kaitlin Murphy garnered 10 points each while Wilkins earned a total of 12 points.
As a team, the Paladins managed a total of 33 rebounds and eleven assists with a 38.3 scoring percentage.
The women’s basketball team will play at home once again on Saturday, Feb. 23 at home against Elon University. The game begins at 2 p.m.