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Lady Paladins Topple Clemson 76-59
Nov. 30, 2004
CLEMSON, South Carolina - On Tuesday night, two and half years after leaving his position as associate coach on the Clemson women's basketball staff, Furman coach Sam Dixon returned to Littlejohn Arena to lead Furman to its first-ever victory there, 76-59.
In winning its second ever game against Clemson and first on the Lady Tigers' home court, Furman jumped out to a 12-2 lead and never trailed, holding a 29-23 advantage at the halftime break. In the first period the Lady Paladins forced 12 Clemson turnovers and matched the Lady Tigers on the boards, while connecting on 12-of-36 field goals and three-of-four free throws. In addition, senior Laney Harris connected on a pair of important three-pointers, including one that stretched the Lady Paladin lead to 10 with 9:44 to go in the period.
The Furman offense threatened to stall in the second period, scoring just five points in the first six minutes, but the Lady Paladins kept up their defensive intensity and allowed just two Clemson points in the same time period. The Lady Tigers rallied to pull within seven points four times in the half, but each time the Lady Paladins answered and regained a double-digit advantage. In the final 8:07, the Furman lead never fell below 14, and stretched to 20 three times.
Junior guard Melynda Gant came off the bench to score a career-best eight points, hitting back-to-back three pointers at 6:44 and 6:23 to give Furman its first 20-point lead of the night. Junior forward Mivvi Strickland also contributed nine points off the bench, while freshman Chrissy Phelps added 12.
"We kept attacking for 40 minutes and never let up," said Dixon after the win. "We had some strong contributions off the bench that made a huge difference in the game. Mivvi, Chrissy, and Melynda each made some important baskets for us tonight."
The Lady Paladins were paced on the night by senior forward Katie Roach, who scored 14 points and claimed seven rebounds in the win. Tommi Paris added 11 points and dished off six assists with four steals, while Jen Nadalin scored nine and grabbed seven rebounds as the starting center.
The Clemson Lady Tigers were paced by Tasha Phillips, who came off the bench to score 11, and Reggie Maddox, who totaled 10 points on the night. Lauren Allen topped the Clemson rebounding corps, with 10 boards.
The victory moved the Lady Paladins to 3-1 on the season as they prepare to host USC-Aiken Saturday at 12:30 in Timmons Arena. Spectators showing a ticket to the Furman footbaall I-AA playoff game against James Madison will be admitted for free.
The loss drops Clemson to 1-4 overall.
"This win was bittersweet for me," said Dixon. "On the one hand those are some of my best friends and Coach Davis is one of my mentors. On the other hand, is ia a heck of a win for our team and our conference and we are very pleased with our players tonight."
