JANUARY 29, 2004
DEFENSIVE BATTLE GOES FURMAN’S WAY 48-38
ELON, North Carolina -- A defensive battle in Furman’s first Southern Conference game against the Elon Phoenix resulted in a 48-38 Lady Paladin victory Thursday night in Elon’s Alumni Gym.
Defense set the tone early as Furman and Elon headed for the halftime locker room with only 34 combined points and the Lady Paladins ahead 21-13. Courtney Nyborg, a 6-5 Phoenix senior from Apex, N.C., recorded four blocks in only 12 minutes in the first period, but when she left the game with two fouls the Lady Paladins scored 12 first half points in the paint while holding Elon to only two. Deshara Shealey and Jen Nadalin topped the Furman effort with six first half points each, while Kim Lawrence added four.
After playing even for most of the second period, the Phoenix tied the game at 35 with 6:35 left in the game. Senior Elon guard Lisa Miller connected on three three-pointers in less than five minutes to erase the Lady Paladin lead and Elon actually took a two-point advantage on a Brianne Gray layup at 6:35. Furman’s Nadalin scored three on a field goal plus foul shot to put Furman back on top 38-37, and another old fashioned three point play, this one by Shealey, put the Furman lead at eight, 43-35, with 2:04 left to play. A fast break by Tommi Paris with 23 tics left gave Furman a 10-point cushion and 48-38 victory.
Nadalin led the Lady Paladin effort with 13 points on the night, while Deshara Shealey contributed 12. Nadalin, Katie Roach, and Orion Wake each had eight rebounds leading Furman to a 45-33 advantage on the boards.
With the win, Furman improves to 11-8 overall and 8-4 in Southern Conference play, while Elon falls to 10-8 overall and 6-5 in league play. The Lady Paladin will host the Spartans of UNC Greensboro Saturday at 1:35 at Timmons Arena. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on Charter’s CSS.