GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Furman sophomore Kena Hodges recorded the first double-double of her career Tuesday night as the Lady Paladin basketball team outlasted UNC Charlotte 61-58 at Timmons Arena.
Hodges, a forward from Columbia, Md., tallied 10 points and claimed a team-high 12 rebounds in the win, while junior Jackie Smith scored a team-high 18 points. Heidi White also scored 10 points on the night, while Tonya Phifer led the UNC Charlotte effort with 15 points and Shemika Turner added 12.
The Lady Paladins held a 29-23 advantage at half time, but the 49ers came out and led by as many as three, 44-41, with eight minutes left in the game. A Jackie Smith free throw tied the game at 44 with 6:42 to go,then a pair of made free shots by Smith gave the Lady Paladins a two-point advantage at 6:31. A layup by Kena Hodges gave Furman the 48-44 advantage with just over four minutes to go, and nine Smith points in the last three minutes put Furman out of reach of the 49ers.
With the victory the Lady Paladins improve to 3-4 overall, while UNC Charlotte falls to 1-7. Furman is in action again on Thursday, December 17, in a 7 p.m. game at Wake Forest. The 49ers will face Saint Louis at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 20, in Charlotte.