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Furman Muscles Past Wofford 63-51
Jan. 5, 2005
GREENVILLE, South Carolina - Furman's Lady Paladin basketball team forced 29 Wofford turnovers and won the battle of the boards 42-38 to post a 63-51 come-from-behind victory over the Terriers Wednesday night in Southern Conference women's basketball action.
An extremely physical first half in which Furman committed 13 turnovers and shot just 25.9% (7-of-27) from the field wound to a close with the Wofford Terriers leading 29-22. Senior Laney Harris scored 10 first-half points to keep the Lady Paladins in the game, but eight Terriers put points on the board, including two three pointers each by Mary Jo Yee and LaToya Strong, to give Wofford the seven-point halftime advantage.
Furman cut the Wofford lead to three, 32-29, just three minutes into the second period, but the Lady Paladins were unable to tie the game until the 12:21 mark, when Tommi Paris made a pair of free throws to knot the score at 38. From 14:07 to 9:30, the Terriers were scoreless and committed eight turnovers, turning a six point advantage into a five point deficit that was never overcome.
Though Wofford pulled within three on a K.C. Correll three-pointer, another two minute scoring drought allowed the Lady Paladins to take a 51-41 lead with 7:50 to play. When the final horn sounded, Furman had outscored Wofford 20-3 off turnovers in the second period alone, and the Furman post players had outscored the Terriers 14-6 in the paint.
"We are very happy to have won this game," said Furman coach Sam Dixon. "It was a total team effort and everyone contributed. I thought we played smarter in the second half than we have for a few games. Our decision making and our execution on both offense and defense was better. We also did a good job on the boards and, top to bottom, it was a well played second half for us."
Point guard Tommi Paris paced the Lady Paladins with 18 points and five rebounds, going 11-for-11 from the free throw line. Laney Harris contributed 14 points in the game and claimed five steals, while Chrissy Phelps tallied 10 points with four takeaways. Junior forward Mivvi Strickland topped the team with nine rebounds, while Katie Roach added eight.
The Wofford Terriers were paced by Mary Jo Yee, who recorded a season-high 15 points. K.C. Correll claimed a career-best 11 boards, while LaToya Strong also set a season-high with nine points.
With the win, Furman improves to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in the Southern Conference, while Wofford falls to 3-11 overall and 1-6 in the league. The Lady Paladins hit the road for a Saturday game at Appalachian State, while Wofford travels to ASU on Monday, Jan. 10.
