Women's Basketball Southern Conference

SoCon Women's Basketball Results for January 26

Furman hands Lady Bucs first home loss of season

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 26, 2004) - For the ninth straight time, the Furman women's basketball team proved to be too much for East Tennessee State to handle. Deshara Shealey and Jen Nadalin both scored 18 points Monday to lead the Lady Paladins to an 80-68 victory over ETSU from Memorial Center. The loss also snaps a seven-game home winning streak for the Lady Bucs.

"The biggest difference is that in the first half we stuck with our game plan - versus the pressure we were getting wide-open looks and making smart decisions," said ETSU head coach Karen Kemp. "In the second half we started forcing things and that just led to too many turnovers."

ETSU (8-9, 8-4 SoCon) held an 11-point lead in the first half following a 3-point basket by freshman Brooke Wilhoit (Sevierville, Tenn.), giving the Lady Bucs an early 24-13 advantage at the 10:45 mark. But things would change in a hurry.

Furman (10-8, 7-4 SoCon) rallied back to tie the score at intermission, 37-37, thanks to a late run to end the first half. Then with 13:58 to go in the contest, Tommi Paris drained a 3-pointer that gave the Lady Paladins a nine-point cushion and forced a 30-second timeout by ETSU.

Head coach Sam Dixon's squad would extend its lead to 17 with just under three minutes remaining. The Lady Bucs were able to battle back thanks to a pair of threes by Wilhoit, but ETSU wasn't able to overcome a 44.4-percent (8-18) shooting effort from the free throw line.

Furman, one of the SoCon's top rebounding teams, controlled the offensive glass en route to the victory. The Lady Paladins garnered 12 offensive boards in the second frame, which led to 16 second-chance points. The visitors also forced 22 turnovers in the game.

In addition to pacing the Furman offense in point production, Shealey came away with six of her team's 13 steals and dished out five assists. Nadalin also pulled down 12 rebounds in registering her first double-double of the season. Kim Lawrence was able to add 10 points to the winning cause.

ETSU senior Kiya Verdell (Hartwell, Ga.) came out of the gates on fire and led all scorers with 17 points going into the locker room at halftime. Verdell finished with a game-high 27 points, one point shy of tying her career-best. Junior Tiffani Mayes (Sumter, S.C.) tallied her team-leading fifth double-double of the season. Mayes netted 10 points and her 19 rebounds was a career-high and was the highest rebound total in the Southern Conference this season. Wilhoit scored 12 points, all of which came from beyond the arc, and sophomore B.J. Banjo (Baltimore, Md.) added 10.

East Tennessee State remains at home to take on SoCon rival Chattanooga this Saturday, Jan. 31. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Memorial Center. Meanwhile, Furman heads to Elon for its third straight contest on the road. That game will be played on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.


Eagles Rebound Over Cougars

Charleston, SC ? Jessica Everett scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Georgia Southern downed the College of Charleston 61-56 in Southern Conference women?s basketball action at Kresse Arena. Shawnica Hill added 11 points to help the Eagles improve to 10-8 overall and 6-6 in the Southern Conference.

Marketta Talley scored 14 points and dished out nine assists for the Cougars. Patrice Bryant added 12 points but CofC falls to 5-13 overall and 3-9 in the Southern Conference. Rachel King also reached double figures for the Cougars with 11 points.

The Cougars led most of the first half, with their largest lead of seven (11-4) coming with13:34 left in the half. Georgia Southern kept its deficit within singles digits and took the lead with 26 lefts until halftime. A jumper by Jennifer Manard with eight seconds left tied the game up and both teams went into the locker room with 24 points apiece. Both team only had nine field goals in the half, with the Eagles shooting 22.5 percent and the Cougars putting up a 29.0 percentage. Georgia Southern out-rebounded the Cougars 34-20 in the first 20 minutes, but held the turnover edge, 12 to nine.

Charleston started the second half out strong and five minutes into the final period led 37-30. The Cougars used a 9-2 run capped off by Erica Nesmith?s lay-up to build a seven-point lead.

The Eagles responded and tied the game up a 37 with 13:15 to play on Kellie Tiller?s jumper off a CofC turnover. Georgia Southern stretched the lead to 50-41 with 9:07 left on Jessica Everett?s layup. The Cougars got back into the game on their 10-2 run topped off by Christina Williams lay in with under five minutes to play to get Charleston back within one.

Georgia Southern sealed the game with two Hill free throws followed by Adrienne Early?s lay up with 1:47 left. The Cougars cut it to within three with 25 seconds left when Bryant knocked down the three but Hill knocked down two more free throws to ensure the win.

The Eagles out rebounded the Cougars 61-37 for the game. Both teams shot below 30 percent from the field in the first half with Charleston shooting 29 percent and Georgia Southern connecting on 22.5 percent. However, both teams warmed in the second half with the Eagles shooting 40.6 percent and the Cougars shooting 40 percent.

The College of Charleston steps out of conference Jan. 28th to host South Carolina in a 7:00 PM contest before heading to Western Carolina for a 4:00 PM contest Jan. 31st. The Eagles host Davidson the 31st at 3:00 PM.