DAVIDSON STUNS FURMAN IN OVERTIME THRILLER

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Sophomore center Courtney Laird (Los Altos, Calif.) capped a thrilling comeback by sinking a three-point basket with five seconds left in overtime to propel Davidson (5-6, 2-1 SoCon) to an 80-79 win over Furman (6-6, 1-2 SoCon) in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday at Belk Arena.

Junior forward Bethany Schott (Aurora, Colo.) keyed the Wildcat comeback, scoring 17 of her career-high 19 points in the second half, and was among a quartet of scorers who notched double digits. Sophomore guard Ashley Hallsted (San Mateo, Calif.) led all scorers with 20 points while senior guard Janna Magette (Hoover, Ala.) and sophomore center Meghan Bryant (Huntersville, N.C.) each added 10 points.

Four players also scored in double figures for Furman and were led by Kim Lawrence's 17 points. Orion Wake grabbed 13 rebounds and added 14 points to the Paladin cause.

After a miserable shooting first half that found the 'Cats down 10, 39-29, at the break, Davidson responded in the second period and made 16-of-24 attempts en route to its best shooting performance of the season. Davidson trailed the first 33:46 of the game, but knotted the score at 59-59 on a Bryant basket in the paint. Sophomore guard Robyn Flewelling (Okemos, Mich.) put the 'Cats ahead for the first time with 5:41 to play in the second period.

The teams would continue to battle back and forth over the final five minutes of play. Furman's Althea Bufford tied the game for the sixth time of the half with just four seconds left to send the game to the extra session.

The Wildcats got behind early in the overtime period, but battled back to take a three-point lead, 75-72, after Hallsted sank two free throws. Lawrence tied the score back at 75-75 with just under three minutes to play. The teams traded points to make the score 77-77 with 2:04 to play. Wake put the Paladins ahead 79-77 with 1:06 to play on a jumper in the lane. Turnovers on three consecutive possessions gave the Paladins the ball back, but Deshara Shealey missed a layup with :15 on the clock to setup the winning Davidson basket.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Wildcats. Davidson returns to action in Boone, N.C. on Tuesday, January 8 at 7:00 against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in another SoCon game. Furman also plays on January 8 and will travel to Wofford.