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Furman Destroys Alabama State In Blazer Invitational
Dec. 29, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - After suffering the worst loss of the season Dec. 22 at Chattanooga, the Furman women's basketball team bounced back with its biggest win of the year Wednesday night, posting an 89-48 victory over Alabama State in the first round of the UAB Blazer Invitational.
Four Lady Paladins piled up double digit points, with Tommi Paris leading the way with 19. Laney Harris added 15 on four-for-six shooting from three-point range, Jessica Lange totaled 13, and Katie Roach contributed 12. Paris also topped the Lady Paladins with eight boards while dishing off three assists.
Furman jumped out to an early 12-2 lead in the game, but the Hornets of ASU went on a 16-5 run to take an 18-17 lead with 10:09 left to play. Furman regained a one point advantage on a pair of Jessica Lange free throws, then stretched the lead to six on a Lange layup and a Harris three-pointer. At the halftime break, Furman had connected on 18-of-21 free throws in gaining a 10-point advantage (37-27) heading into the locker room.
In the second half Harris hit her fourth-trey of the night and Paris, Princess Wells, Melynda Gant, and Megan Scott each made one from three-point range to give Furman a five-for-nine (.556) half from beyond the arc. In addition, the Lady Paladins shot 58.8% (20-of-34) from the field after making just 28.6% (8-for-28) of their first-half shots, and sank seven-of-10 free throws in earning the 41-point victory.
"We had three good days of practice coming into tonight's game and we carried that effort over into the game," said coach Sam Dixon after the win. "We are excited about the win and look forward to getting ready for the next game."
With the win, the Lady Paladins improve to 8-2 on the year while Alabama State falls to 2-6. Furman will play at 7 p.m. (CST) Thursday night in the championship game of the UAB Blazer Invitational against either UAB or Tennessee State.
