January 17, 2002

FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES AS FURMAN DEFEATS APPALACHIAN STATE 71-57

GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Five Lady Paladins scored in double figures Thursday night as the Furman women's basketball team defeated Southern Conference foe Appalachian State 71-57 in Timmons Arena.

Furman connected on 43.3% of its first half shots, but Appalachian State stayed close by connecting on three three-pointers and six of eight free throws. At the halftime break Furman led by five, 36-31, and the game was up for grabs with no one playing exceptionally well.

Jaymi Wilson of Appalachian State scored first in the second period to cut the Lady Paladin lead to three, but Furman went on a 7-0 run to hold a 10-point advantage at the 17:53 mark. The Furman lead hovered around the 10-point mark until 11:04, when the Lady Paladins put together a 9-1 run to stretch the lead to 14 with 6:49 to play. At 6:35 the Mountaineers answered with a run of their own, outscoring the Lady Paladins 14-5 to cut the lead to five with 1:48 to go. In the final 90 seconds, the Lady Paladins sank five free throws and a layup while holding ASU scoreless to take the 14-point Southern Conference victory.

Five Lady Paladins reached double digit scoring on Thursday, with freshman Monica Pope leading the way with 17 points on the night. Kim Lawrence and Althea Bufford tied with 11 each, while Mary Brock and Deshara Shealey each totaled 10. In addition, Orion Wake claimed a team-high 13 rebounds to help Furman to a 48-41 advantage on the boards.

With the victory Furman improves to 9-7 overall and 4-3 in the Southern Conference, while Appalachian State falls to 6-10 and 2-5. The Lady Paladins will host the Bucs of East Tennessee State Saturday at 3 p.m., while the Mountaineers travel to Cullowhee, N.C., for a 2 p.m. contest with Western Carolina