December 29, 2003
FURMAN TOPPLES HOLY CROSS 68-57 IN LADY LUCK CONSOLATION
BLACKSBURG, Virginia -- Furman forced the Crusaders of Holy Cross into 31 turnovers Monday night, as the Lady Paladin basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 68-57 victory over the reigning Patriot League champions in consolation action at the Virignia Tech Lady Luck Classic.
Furman led by as many as six in the first period (17-11), but the Crusaders kept the game close and took at two-point lead on a Shannon Bush layup with 23 seconds left in the half. A Katie Roach jumper off a Deshara Shealey pass fell with :03 left on the clock to send to the teams to the halftime locker room with the score knotted at 25.
The Lady Paladins came out strong in the second half, as Kim Lawrence grabbed one of her four steals on the night just seven seconds into the period and converted a layup and free throw to give the Lady Paladins a 28-25 advantage. Furman managed to hold its lead despite the Crusaders pulling to within two on two occasions and stretched the advantage to nine, 46-37, with 10:01 to go. A 10-3 Holy Cross run cut the Lady Paladin lead to two, 49-47, with 6:55 left in the game, but the Lady Paladins replied with six unanswered points to regain an eight-point cushion with 5:43 left on the clock. In the final five minutes the Lady Paladins led by 11 on five occasions, including the final buzzer.
“It was a good win over a quality basketball team,” said Furman coach Sam Dixon after the victory. “They are going to be first or second in the Patriot League and they have played tough competition just like we have and I think it was huge for us to win the way we did. We got a lead, then they got a lead, we fought back and got some momentum going into the second half and we came out strong to start the scond half and carried it through.”
The Lady Paladins were led on the night by senior forward Kim Lawrence, who recorded Furman’s first double-double this season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Katie Roach came off the bench to add 14 points to the Lady Paladin effort, while Deshara Shealey contributed 10.
While Furman forced Holy Cross into 31 turnovers, the Lady Paladins tied a season-low with 18 turnovers of their own. As a result, the Lady Paladins shot the ball 20 more times than the Crusaders and claimed 10 steals to Holy Cross’ four.
Holy Cross was paced on the night by point guard Sarah Placek, who scored 17 points but had no assists. Maggie Fontana added 12 points, but was in foul trouble much of the game. Center Lisa Andrews staked the Crusaders to a 45-40 rebounding advantage with 12 boards in the game.
With the win Furman improves to 4-5 overall, while Holy Cross falls to 4-7. The Lady Paladins will play at UNC Greensboro on Jan. 3, in a 3 p.m. game.