November 22, 2003
FURMAN FALLS 58-48 IN BASKETBALL OPENER
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island -- Furman’s Lady Paladin basketball team dropped its season opener 58-48 to the BIG EAST’s Providence College Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym in Providence, R.I.
Furman was in the thick of the game in the first half, even leading on two occasions, but an offense that sputtered in the first period stalled in the second, and the Friars got the win at home.
The Lady Paladins took their first lead in the game on a Laney Harris three pointer with 14:10 left in the first period. The Friars answered by making four three pointers in the remainder of the period, but Furman evened the score at 29 when sophomore Princess Wells hit the back end of a two shot foul. The Furman press forced a turnover on the inbounds play and sophomore Mivvi Strickland was fouled on the layup attempt. Strickland made the back half of her two point foul to give the Lady Paladins a 30-29 advantage, but Furman was held scoreless in the last two minutes and trailed 34-30 entering the halftime locker room.
The Friars connected on 57.1% of their field goals in the first period (12-21) and hit five-of-nine three pointers (.571), while Furman made 11-of-26 (.423) from the field and one-of-one from three point range.
Furman started the second period with a quick basket by senior Orion Wake, to pull within two (34-32) of Providence, but the field goal proved to be one of only six in the second period, leading to a .261 field goal shooting percentage for the half. After Wake’s field goal at the 19:13 mark, the Lady Paladin did not connect on another one until Deshara Shealey made a jumper with 11:11 left in the game. At that point, Furman was down by eight and the Providence lead held around 10 for the remainder of the game.
“I thought Providence executed well,” said Furman coach Sam Dixon after the loss. “We didn’t get the ball inside enough.”
The Lady Paladins were led by Shealey, who scored 17 points and claimed four rebounds on the day. Orion Wake added seven points and a team-high eight boards, while senior Kim Lawrence gathered in five of Furman’s 14 steals.
Providence was paced by Kristin Quinn’s 19 points, five three-pointer effort and Jill Furstenburg’s 15 points and eight assists.
The Lady Paladins are on the road again next Wednesday, with a 7 p.m. game at Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C.