Dec. 6, 2005

Box Score

GREENVILLE, South Carolina - Furman's Lady Paladin basketball team used a strong second-half surge to defeat the visiting Eagles of American University 61-48 Tuesday night at Timmons Arena.

Plagued by 19 first-half turnovers and six first period lead changes, Furman shot 50% from the field and 42.9% (3-for-7) from three-point range to eek out a 29-28 advantage when the horn sounded for halftime. Despite a 12-for-24 showing from the field, the Lady Paladins had taken five fewer shots than American and were behind seven to five on the offensive boards.

In the second period the Lady Paladins turned all that around, commiting 10 turnovers while forcing 17 and holding AU to just 20 points. In addition, the Lady Paladins won the overall rebounding war 40-34 and shot 40% (22-for-55) from the field for the game and 87.5% (14-of-16) from the free throw line.

"I thought our defense in the second half was very good," said Furman coach Sam Dixon after the victory. "They had to take a lot of tough shots and we forced 17 second half turnovers. This was a good win and I am really proud of the kids and their effort."

Senior forward Melynda Gant scored a career-best 17 points, while center Jessica Lange contributed 11 and guard Tommi Paris added 14. Lange and Gant paced Furman to a 28-24 advantage in points in the paint, but it was guard Chrissy Phelps who grabbed a team-best six rebounds, though all came on the defensive end.

The Eagles were led by Tala Hadavi's 15 points, while Abby Lipskis added 12 with a team-best nine boards. Tara Williams grabbed five steals on the night while Sahar Nusseibeh knocked down the team's only two blocks.

With the win, the Lady Paladins improve to 3-3 overall, while American falls to 2-5. Furman returns to action on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at UNC Asheville. The Eagles will host Penn on Saturday in a 4 p.m. matchup.