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Georgia Southern Downs Furman 71-59
Dec. 30, 2006
Statesboro, Ga. - Tiffany Brown scored 18 points and added five assists and five steals, and Georgia Southern held a 44-14 advantage in points in the paint as the Eagles defeated Furman 71-59 on Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Shawnda Atwood joined Brown in double-figure scoring with 16 points and five rebounds, and Carolyn Whitney and Ashley Rivens chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Furman placed three players in double-figures in scoring, led by Jessica Lange's 15 points and seven rebounds.Chrissy Phelps added 12 points and two steals, and Melissa Liebschwager netted 11 points and two assists.
The game started with a flurry as there were five lead changes in the first three minutes. After Sarah Baker hit back-to-back three pointers, Georgia Southern started a 10-0 run to stretch its lead to 31-19 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. Furman began cutting into the lead and looked to have momentum going into the break, but Rivens floater from the baseline at the buzzer gave the Eagles a 34-26 lead at halftime.
A 12-0 run for Georgia Southern in the second half extended the lead for the home side, capped off by a Brown steal and layup to make the score 55-36 with 11:13 remaining. Still trailing by 17 points with four minutes left, Furman cut into the lead, trimming the margin to 63-55 with two minutes remaining. Whitney and Rivens hit back to back jumpers for the Eagles, and Georgia Southern made four straight free throws in the last minute to hold onto the lead.
After making 17 consecutive free throws over the past two games, Furman struggled from the line, connecting on just 16 of its 27 attempts.
With the win, Georgia Southern improves to 6-7 overall, 1-1 in the Southern Conference. Furman falls to 5-8 on the season, 0-2 in league action. The Lady Paladins return to action on Tuesday night as Furman plays host to Appalachian State in its first home conference game of the season.
