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Lady Paladins Rally to Defeat Jacksonville State 72-67
Nov. 21, 2006
Greenville, S.C. - Jessica Lange and Courtney Opie both recorded career-highs in scoring and Furman overcame an 18 point second half deficit to defeat Jacksonville State 72-67 on Tuesday night at Timmons Arena.
Lange scored 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. She also added a game-high three blocked shots. Opie netted 12 points on five field goals and a pair of free throws.
Ashley Boykin led all scorers with 26 points, including five three-pointers for Jacksonville State.
Jacksonville State, who led 37-27 at halftime, opened up the second half with five quick points on a Boykin trey and a steal and layup by Cobie Carlisle to push the lead to 42-27. Boykin's three-pointer with 17:47 remaining extended the lead to 18 points at 47-29.
Lange scored seven straight points for Furman and Lee Stephens' layup and Kali Holtfreter's jumpshot cut the lead to 51-41 with just over 13 minutes remaining. A four minute scoreless drought for the Gamecocks and Holtfreter's three-pointer cut into the lead. Opie made two short jumpers and Chrissy Phelps knocked down a pair of free throws to pull within 51-50 at the 10:58 mark.
Sarah Baker's three pointer tied the score at 53 apiece, and Lange gave Furman the lead with a jumpshot with nine minutes remaining the game. The Lady Paladins reached its largest lead of the night at 67-59 on two Opie free throws, and Furman made seven out of ten free throws over the last two and a half minutes to seal the win.
Baker scored nine points and collected a game-high ten rebounds for the Lady Paladins. Stephens, Baker, and Holtfreter each added four assists, while Stephens recorded four steals.
Furman, who entered the game ranked last in the Southern Conference in free throw percentage at .486, made 20 of its 28 attempts for a 71.4% mark.
With the win, Furman improves its record to 2-1 on the season. Jacksonville State falls to 3-2 overall. The Lady Paladins return to action this weekend as Furman meets Duquesne on Friday at 4:00 p.m. in the first round of the Hilton Wilmington Riverside Classic in Wilmington, N.C.
