Furman 75, Troy 57
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Raegan Thompson scored a game high 20 points to lead Furman to a 75-57 victory over visiting Troy in the Paladins’ 2011-12 home season opener Thursday evening at Timmons Arena.
Thompson, a junior guard/forward from Oak Ridge, Tenn., converted 7-of-14 field goal attempts, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, and converted a pair of free throw chances to lead Furman (2-1) to its second straight win. Thompson also collected seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 34 minutes of action.
Kaitlin Murphy followed with 17 points and a game high eight assists, and Brittany Hodges rounded out Furman’s double figure scoring trio with 13 points and a game high eight rebounds.
The Paladins shot 40.0 percent from the field, knocking down 28-of-70 shots, and converted 13-of-14 free throws. Furman also forged a 50-39 rebounding advantage in the contest.
Troy (0-2) was paced in scoring DeAngela Sword’s 17 points and Sarah McAppion with 12 points.
Trailing 22-21 with six minutes remaining in the first half, Furman took the lead for good with an 9-0 run, ignited by a Teshia Griswold jump shot and capped by a Hodges jumper, to take a 30-22 lead with 3:31 to go. The Paladins closed the first period with a layup by Alexis Peterson and 3-pointers by Griswold and Thompson to take a 38-26 lead into halftime.
Furman led 47-30 following a Hodges layup three minutes into the second half before Troy answered with a 10-0 burst to make it 47-40 on a Rosie Hynes layup at the 14:34 mark.
The Paladins then took control of the contest, putting together a 16-4 run over the next five minutes to build a 19-point advantage at 63-44 following a Griswold layup with 9:29 remaining.
The Paladins’ next game is a Monday home matchup against UNC Asheville. Tipoff time at Timmons Arena’s YP.com court is set for 7:00 p.m.
College of Charleston 48, No.12 Georgia 73
ATHENS, Ga. - The Cougars fell behind early and could not come back as they fell 48-73 against the No. 12 ranked Georgia Bulldogs Thursday at the Stegemen Coliseum.
Junior Megan Fischer led the Cougars (1-2) with 15 points, including 13 in the seond half as the Cougars did not allow the Bulldogs (3-0) to extend their halftime lead significantly of 44-22.
Georgia opened the game on an 18-0 run, until freshman Christy Hewatt scored the first basket for the Cougars on a 3-pointer at the 10:46 mark. Hewatt would make two more treys as part of a 15-6 run by the Cougars in the final six minutes of the half.
In the second half the Cougars picked up the intensity on defense, forcing Georgia into 10 turnovers and converting 12 points off those turnovers. CofC continued strong perimeter shooting from the first half as they finished the game shooting 47 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (8-17) and held Georgia to 33 percent, including zero-for-five in the second half. After being outscored by 22 points in the first half, CofC scored 26 points in the second half and held Georgia to 29.
Sophomore Brittany Johnson closed out the game by banking in a 3-point shot with 24 seconds left to go, as the shot clock was running down.
Sophomore Jillian Brown tied her career-high with six assists and recorded three steals. Junior Latisha Harris added eight points and eight rebounds and Hewatt finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and two steals.
The Cougars are back in action Nov. 23 as they travel to Columbia, S.C. for a 7 p.m. matchup with South Carolina. That contest will be televised by SportSouth.
Georgia Southern 57, Mercer 55
MACON, Ga. - Anna Claire Knight hit a buzzer beater right before time expired to give the Georgia Southern Lady Eagles their first win of the season on the road at the Mercer Bears. The Lady Eagles, who trailed for the majority of the game, rallied in the second half to win 57-55 at the University Center.
Georgia Southern (1-2) held a 55-53 lead with 21 seconds remaining in the half, but Alicia Williams drained a floater in the paint to tie the contest at 55-55 with 6.2 seconds remaining. Junior Meredyth Frye drove down the court with six seconds remaining and dished the ball to the freshman, who was unguarded outside the paint near the baseline.
Frye posted a season-high 17 points to lead the Lady Eagles and pulled down seven of the team's 48 rebounds. She also hit five of six free throws in the final three minutes to help seal the win. Freshman Tashayla Steede (Marietta, Ga.) recorded her second-straight start and recorded a season-best nine boards to lead the team in that category.
Georgia Southern rallied in the second half, cutting the Bear's 10-point halftime lead to two points on a pair of free throws by Frye with 2:36 to play. The junior guard tied the game at 52-52 just seconds after with another pair of free throws. MiMi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.), who played only nine minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, put Georgia Southern on top, 54-52, a minute later.
Mercer (0-3) led by as many as 13 points in the first half. The Bears scored 14 points off of 17 Lady Eagle turnovers. Briana Williams was limited to 12 minutes in the period due to two fouls but still managed to score nine points in the opening period.
Led by Precious Bridges' 14 points, Mercer had three players score in double figures. Williams tallied only two points in the second half and finished with 11, while Alicia Williams scored 12 points on 2-for-7 shooting from behind the arc.
The Lady Eagles continue a five-game road swing at Alabama Monday. Tip-off from Foster Auditorium is set for 7:30 p.m. est.