 |  |
Furman Outlasts College of Charleston 69-64
Feb. 12, 2005
GREENVILLE, South Carolina - Despite trailing for most of the half, the Lady Paladin basketball team took its first lead of the second period, 58-57, with 4:03 left to play, and held on for a 69-64 Southern Conference victory over the College of Charleston Saturday at Timmons Arena.
The Cougars took a 34-33 advantage into the halftime locker room and led by as many as nine with 12:40 to go in the second period, when the Lady Paladins began chipping away at the lead. A pair of Tommi Paris free throws with 7:54 left to play put the Lady Paladins within one, but almost four more minutes ticked off the clock before Furman pulled ahead for the first time in the period.
Four lead changes later the Lady Paladins were back on top after a Paris jumper put the score at 62-61. A Jen Nadalin layup stretched the Lady Paladin lead to three, then two more back to back Paris free throws put the Furman advantage at five.
In all, the Lady Paladins sank five of six free shots in the final 25 seconds to hold off the College of Charleston attack. For the game, the Lady Paladins connected on 25-of-28 free throws for an 89.3% mark from the stripe.
The Cougars were led on the day by junior Erica Irick, who scored a career-high 27 points. Patrice Bryant totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars' only double-double, and passed the 1,000 points mark in her career.
The Lady Paladins were paced by point guard Tommi Paris, who scored 21 with a 10-for-10 day from the line. Senior Jen Nadalin added 13 points while freshman Chrissy Phelps claimed the first double-double of her career, with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
With the win the Lady Paladins improve to 16-7 overall and 11-5 in the Southern Conference. The loss drops the Cougars to 10-12 overall and 7-9 in league play. Furman will host the Eagles of Georgia Southern Monday at 7 p.m., while College of Charleston travels to Wofford for a 7 p.m. contest against the Terriers.
