Furman 88, Wofford 65
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Kelly O'Connor scored 18 points and established a new Furman season record for made 3-pointers in leading Furman past Wofford, 88-65, in women's Southern Conference basketball action Wednesday evening at Ben Johnson Arena.
O'Connor, a senior guard from Alpharetta, Ga., who came into the contest tied with former Paladin Karen Stanley (1995) with 77 made 3-pointers, converted 4-of-12 attempts from behind the arc to help Furman (12-15, 8-10 SoCon) record its first road victory since late November and complete the two-game season sweep of Wofford (7-18, 3-14 SoCon)
Kendra Berry tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, Raegan Thompson delivered 14 points and a career tying 10 boards, and Kaitlin Murphy rounded out Furman's double figure scoring parade with 13 points to go along with five assists.
Wofford was paced by Mahogony Williams' 17 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks.
The Paladins found the range of 27-of-72 shots (37.5 percent), including 8-of-22 from 3-point range, and 26-of-33 free throws (78.8 percent).
Furman forged a 51-42 rebounding advantage and forced 20 turnovers to register a 26-8 scoring differential off miscues.
The Paladins led from start to finish, taking control from the opening tip with a 14-2 spurt.
A Maddie Helms 3-pointer with 4:22 to go in the first half cut Furman's lead to 32-23, but Thompson answered with a trey to push the advantage back into double digits where it remained for the duration.
Furman's 12 wins this season under first year head coach Jackie Carson mark a five-game improvement over last year's seven-win campaign, and the Paladins' eight SoCon victories this year represent four more than the 4-16 slate registered a year ago.
The triumph also gave Furman, currently in seventh place in the SoCon standings, a game and half lead over Davidson, who the Paladins face next Monday at Davidson in a 7:00 p.m. game.
College of Charleston 51, Georgia Southern 39
STATESBORO, Ga. - The College of Charleston women's basketball team claimed its 600th win in program history with a 51-39 road victory at Georgia Southern on Wednesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Cougars (9-18, 6-12) have now won two in a row and three of their last four in Southern Conference play including a 63-45 win over Wofford on Feb. 14.
The CofC defense held the Eagles (11-15, 8-9) without a field goal for 10 and a half minutes in the first half of play and led 23-20 at halftime.
Freshman Alyssa Frye connected on 5-of-9 three-pointers including one to put the game out of reach with 3:24 remaining in regulation, 47-36, to end the night with a game-high 15 points and six rebounds.
Senior Tonia Gerty turned in a balanced stat line with 12 points, a career-high seven steals and five assists. She has now registered 1,206 career points to date to move into the top 15 on the school's all-time leading scorers list which ranks fifth-best in the program's NCAA Division I history.
The Cougars return home to take on Western Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Carolina First Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET).