Furman 63, Presbyterian 47
CLINTON, S.C. -- Kaitlin Murphy scored 15 points and helped ignite an early second half run that powered Furman past Presbyterian, 63-47, in women’s basketball action Tuesday evening at the Templeton Center.
The win was the first of the season for Furman (1-1), which plays its home opener on Thursday against Troy in the first game of a doubleheader beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Murphy delivered a pair of baskets and assisted on a another to fuel an 11-2 Furman run over the first three minutes of the second half, helping the Paladins turn a 22-18 halftime deficit into a 29-24 advantage.
With Furman leading 35-29, the Paladins’ Teshia Griswold keyed an 8-0 Paladin spurt with a jump shot followed by a Raegan Thompson 3-pointer and 3-point play by Sarah Durdaller that stretched the Paladins’ lead to 43-29 with 11:29 to go.
From that point the Paladins outscored the Blue Hose 12-3 over the next three and half minutes to take total control of the contest. Thompson’s third 3-pointer of the game with 7:45 remaining gave Furman a 55-32 lead, its biggest of the contest.
Furman shot 56.3 percent from the field over the game’s final 20 minutes, connecting on 18-of-32 shots to finish the game with a 47.3 percent rate.
Murphy went 7-of-14 from the field and contributed four assists for the Paladins.
Thompson finished with 14 points, converting on 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc, and also claiming six rebounds.
Furman’s freshmen also contributed significantly, with Durdaller leading the way with eight points. Brittany Hodges added seven points and six rebounds while Savonia Bryan chipped in seven points and five boards. Alexis Peterson tallied four points and claimed five caroms for the Paladins, who registered a 34-25 rebounding advantage and tallied 13 steals.
PC was paced by Mariah Pietrowski’s game high 16 points.
Georgia Southern 49, No. 13 Georgia 68
STATESBORO, Ga. - Behind 40 points in the paint and 31 points off turnovers, the 13th ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs defeated the Georgia Southern Lady Eagles 68-49 at Hanner Fieldhouse. Four days after an 88-46 loss to Arizona, the Lady Eagles took a step in the right direction with a much improved first half and trailed by only seven points in second-half scoring.
Georgia (2-0) went to their post game in the second half, scoring 22 of their 40 points in the paint to put the game away. Led by Jasmine Hassell's 17 points, three Lady Bulldogs scored in double figures. Khaalidah Miller and Jasmine James added 16 points each. Anna Marie Armstong was held to nine points after a career-high outburst of 22 points in the opener but tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Georgia Southern (0-2) held their own on the boards and trailed by only six rebounds. MiMi DuBose bounced back from a three-point performance against the Wildcats with a team-high 14 points. She also nailed her first two three pointers of the season.
The Lady Eagles took a 15-11 lead with 13:04 to go in the first period after a 9-0 run. Freshman Tashayla Steede sparked the run with four points and erased the Lady Bulldogs' early five-point advantage. GSU shot a much improved 47.6 percent in the first half but was held below 30 percent in the second half.
The freshmen continue to impress in the early going. Steede was a part of a new starting five and finished the night with eight points and four rebounds, while Anna Claire Knight played 21 minutes and scored seven of the team's 13 bench points.
Steede along with DuBose joined the starting five for the second game of the season and both took advantage of the opportunity. They joined Brittany Benzio Janay Wilson and Merdyth Frye who started the season opener.
Wilson joined DuBose in double figures with 10 points after going six-for-nine from the charity stripe. She also pulled down a team-best six rebounds and was active on the defensive end with three steals.
The Lady Eagles hit the road for a five-game road swing beginning at Mercer on Thursday. Tip-off is set from 7 p.m. in Macon.