March 5, 2009

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman Paladins women's basketball team will square off with Appalachian State in Southern Conference Tournament first round action Thursday at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.

Furman (12-17, 6-14 SoCon) heads into this year's tournament as the No. 9 seed, and Appalachian State (8-21, 7-13 SoCon) is the No. 8 seed. The Paladins and Mountaineers split two regular season contests, with Furman claiming a 75-66 decision in Greenville on Dec. 20 and Appalachian State winning, 77-64, in Boone on Jan. 31.

The winner of the Furman-Appalachian State game will face regular season champion and tournament host Chattanooga on Friday, March 6 at approximately 11:30 a.m.

Furman's clash with Appalachian State will mark the seventh meeting between the Paladins and Mountaineers in SoCon Tournament play but the first since 1994. ASU has won five of the six games with Furman, but the Paladins won the last meeting, taking a 77-73 decision in 1994.

Furman sports a 21-23 all-time conference tournament record and has won two championships, in 1995 & 2000. Current head coach Sam Dixon is 4-6 in SoCon Tournament action.

The Paladins are paced in scoring by junior guard Lee Stephens, who earlier this week garnered consensus All-Southern Conference honors in voting by SoCon head coaches and media. The Cincinnati, Ohio, is averaging 15.6 ppg.

Senior guard Melissa Liebschwager scored 21 points in both contests against Appalachian State this year. She is averaging 12.3 ppg and ranks second in the league in 3-point shooting (46.2%).