 |  |
Western Carolina Spoils Furman's Senior Day 57-53
Feb. 19, 2005
GREENVILLE, South Carolina - Furman junior Tommi Paris poured in a career-high 25 points and senior forward Katie Roach claimed a career-best 14 rebounds, but it was not enough to hold off Western Carolina, as the Cats handed the Lady Paladins a 57-53 Southern Conference loss Saturday in Timmons Arena.
Furman managed just 24 first half points on 10-of-31 shooting from the field and trailed 35-24 at halftime. In the second period, the Lady Paladins outscored Western Carolina 29-22, but were unable to overcome the early deficit and snapped a four-game win streak with the four-point loss.
Trailing by 11 with 5:58 to go, the Lady Paladins made a run at the Cats, pulling to within four, 55-51, on a Chrissy Phelps jumper with 1:59 to play. The Catamounts' Lori Tanner hit one of two free throws with 1:13 to go and a second later Jen Nadalin made back to back free shots to put the Lady Paladins within three. The Furman defense got a much needed stop on the next WCU possession, but Furman was unable to score and fouled Jennifer Gardner with 15 ticks left on the clock. Garner made one of two free throws to reach the final margin, and the Lady Paladins were unable to connect on a jumper at the eight second mark that would have cut the lead to two.
Western Carolina senior Sigita Maleraite scored a career-high 18 points in the first half, and added one free throw in the second for 19 points in the game, leading the Cats offensively. Jennifer Garner added 10 points and claimed 14 rebounds, while Teyawna Hardy added 15 points to the WCU effort.
In addition to Paris' career day, senior Jen Nadalin was the only other Lady Paladin with double figure scoring, totaling 10 points with seven rebounds. As a team, the Lady Paladins shot just 34.5% from the field and 61.1% from the line, despite a season-free throw percentage of . 762, which ranks 10th in the nation in Division I.
With the loss, the Lady Paladins fall to 17-8 overall and 12-6 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina improves to 13-12 overall and 9-9 in league action. The Lady Paladins will end the season with a Thursday night game at Davidson, followed by a Saturday afternoon contest at Elon. Western Carolina hosts Wofford Monday night at 7 p.m.
