FEBRUARY 26, 2004
LADY PALADINS FALL IN OVERTIME THRILLER 88-87
GREENVILLE, South Carolina - Four Lady Paladins scored in double figures and senior guard Deshara Shealey poured in a season-high 26, but it was not enough to overcome Davidson’s three-point attack, as the Lady Paladins fell 88-87 Thursday night in their first overtime game since defeating Georgia Southern 85-83 on Jan. 14, 2002.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead, sinking three three-pointers in the first five minutes to take a 15-8 advantage in the game. Furman pulled to within three, 15-12, but Courtney Laird sank a three-pointer at 13:02 and the Wildcats were off and running, taking a 23-14 lead on a trey by Ashley Hallsted. At the haltime break the Wildcats were up 48-30 and had seven made three-pointers to Furman’s one by Deshara Shealey.
Furman picked up its defensive intensity in the second half and also turned up its inside game with Orion Wake totaling 11 second period points. After allowing Davidson to outrebound them 22-16 in the first half the Lady Paladins outpaced the Cats 27-15 on the boards in the second. Though the Wildcats led by 10 with 5:04 left in regulation the game was far from over, and four different Lady Paladins scored in six consecutive possessions to cut the Davidson lead to one, 71-70. Davidson guard Katie Hamilton made one of two free throw with 20 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 74-72 lead, but seven seconds later Tommi Paris responded with a fastbreak layup to tie the game for the first time. Hamilton missed a contested last second jumper and the game went into overtime.
The Lady Paladins scored first in the overtime period and led by as many as seven, but missed three free throws in the final 1:47. Davidson, meanwhile, connected on four field goals, two of which were three-pointers, in the same time frame, and Hamilton sank two free throws with 22 seconds left to put Davidson one point behind the Lady Paladins, 87-86. A Furman turnover with five seconds left gave the Wildcats the chance they needed, and Hamilton launched a 10-footer that fell to give Davidson an 88-87 overtime victory and season sweep of the Lady Paladins.
Hamilton, a freshman from Lilburn, Ga., scored 24 for the Wildcats while Lindsay Shade added a career-high 16 points, Ashley Hallsted contributed 12, and Kelly Brynn scored 11. The Wildcats’ 48 first-half points were the most scored by Davidson in a single half this year.
Furman was led by Shealey’s 26 points while Orion Wake tallied 19, Tommi Paris scored 14, and Kim Lawrence contributed 13. Furman ended up winning the rebounding battle 47-43, but ended the game with just one made three-pointer, while Davidson sank 13.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 16-11 overall and 13-7 in the Southern Conference, while Furman falls to 16-10 overall and 13-6 in league play. The Lady Paladins will end their regular season Sunday at 3 p.m. in a home game against Elon, and must defeat the Phoenix to maintain a number two seed in the league tournament. Tonight’s game marked the end of Davidson’s regular season schedule.