December 1, 2003
SOPHOMORE TOMMI PARIS KEYS 83-58 SOCON WIN FOR FURMAN
GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Sophomore guard Tommi Paris scored a career-high 21 points and went three-for-three from three-point range to key an 83-58 Furman victory over Southern Conference foe East Tennessee State Monday night in Timmons Arena.
Furman jumped out to an early lead in the game, with Paris connecting on a contested layup at the 19:42 mark and making the one shot foul to give Furman a 3-0 lead right off the bat. Furman outscored ETSU 15-4 to start the game and quickly took a double-digit advantage, but the Bucs pulled to within six, 15-9, on a jumper by Lauren Trantham and a three pointer by Brooke Wilhoit.
The Lady Paladins responded with a 15-0 scoring run that put Furman ahead 30-9 with nine minutes left in the half. ETSU snapped out of its scoring drought at the 8:09 mark on a two-pointer by Tiffani Mayes, but the damage had been done and the Lady Paladins took a 50-23 lead into the halftime locker room. Much of Furmanıs first-half domination took place in the post, with the Lady Paladins outscoring the Bucs 20-6 in the paint. In addition, Furman parlayed 20 first-half ETSU turnovers into 26 points while giving up the basketball just eight times.
After shooting a scorching 51.3% from the field in the first half the Lady Paladins cooled off a bit in the second period, connecting on nine-of-27 field goals for a .333 shooting percentage. ETSU countered with a 15-of-35 half from the field and outscored Furman 35-33, but the Lady Paladins earned the 25-point decision.
In addition to Parisı 21 point performance, senior guard Deshara Shealey scored 17, Kim Lawrence contributed 12, and Jen Nadalin scored 11. Orion Wake led Furman on the boards, with eight, contributing to the Lady Paladinsı 44-38 rebounding advantage on the night.
"Tommi was excellent tonight," said head coach Sam Dixon following the game. "She had great command of the game and herself and put the team and herself in position to get off to a very, very good start."
The Bucs were paced by Tiffani Mayesı 15 points, while Trantham and Wilhoit each added 13. Mayes was also ETSUıs top rebounder, with seven boards, while Trantham claimed six and nabbed a team-high four steals.
With the win Furman improves to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Southern Conference, while East Tennessee State falls to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Lady Paladins will host Clemson on Sunday, Dec. 7, in a 2 p.m. game, while ETSU plays at UNC Asheville on Wednesday.