Furman 56, Georgia Southern 42

STATESBORO, GA. -- Kaitlin Murphy scored 15 points and Furman held Georgia Southern scoreless over the final six minutes of the game to claim a 56-42 Southern Conference win over the Eagles Monday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse in the 1,000th game in Furman women’s basketball history.

The victory was the first league triumph of the season for Furman (5-8, 1-3 SoCon), fifth straight decision over Georgia Southern (2-12, 1-4 SoCon), and third consecutive win in Statesboro.

Murphy, a senior guard from Memphis, Tenn., gave the Paladins a 46-40 lead with a jump shot with 8:18 remaining in the game and added another basket with 1:38 to go, part of a 10-0 game ending run by Furman, that secured the victory.

The Paladins limited Georgia Southern to just 16 points and 17.6 percent shooting (6-for-34) in the second half.

Brittany Hodges notched her second double-double in the last three games with 13 points and 11 rebounds,

Georgia Southern was paced by Mimi DuBose with 11 points and Sierra Kirkland with 10.

Teshia Griswold, Furman’s leading scorer and the SoCon’s top 3-point shooter entering the game, connected on just 3-of-13 shots, but her lone 3-pointer of the game extended a three-point lead to 44-38 with 9:30 to go.

Meredyth Frye’s basket at the 5:58 mark pulled Georgia Southern to within four at 46-42, but the Eagles failed to score the rest of the way.

A Griswold jump shot with 13 seconds remaining in the first half gave Furman a 38-26 halftime lead, and the Paladins never trailed over the game’s final 20 minutes.

Furman shot 38.2 percent for the game, connecting on 21-of-55 field goal attempts, and managed a 43-42 advantage on the boards.

Murphy tacked on a pair of steals, helping the Paladins to 10 thefts in the contest.

Elon 67, Wofford 57

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team (7-7, 4-1 SoCon) won its third game in five days tonight, Jan. 9, with a 67-57 win at Wofford (5-7, 0-4 SoCon) in Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Phoenix had four players finish in double figures, while the defense forced 21 turnovers.

Elon made 22-of-58 from the field to shoot almost 40 percent with 32 points coming in the paint. The Phoenix made a season-high 21 free throws off 24 attempts to finish 87 percent from the charity stripe.

Kelsey Evans led the scoring effort for the maroon and gold with 12 points, while Sam Coffer posted a season-high 11 points. Ali Ford and Kelsey Harris contributed 10 points each.

Elon won the rebounding battle, 39-37, with the help of seven rebounds from both Evans and Harris.

The Terriers shot 34 percent from the field, including 40 percent from three-point territory. Wofford’s Morgan Wrightson posted a game-high 23 points, making 8-of-17 field goal attempts.

After starting the game on an 8-2 run, Elon took its largest lead of the game, 23-12, off a jumper by Lauren Hudson at the 9:05 mark. Wofford cut the Elon lead to three, 25-22, before Coffer finished off a three-point play with a free throw to extend the advantage back to six, 28-22.

With Elon leading by 10, 34-24, the Terriers managed to finish the first frame on a 6-0 run with a three at the buzzer to make it a 34-30 game at half.

Wofford maintained the momentum into the second half and took its first lead of the game, 42-40, with 15:06 to play. The maroon and gold answered with a three by Zora Stephenson to regain the lead. From there, Elon used a 9-4 run to go up by six, 52-46, after two good free throws by Autumn Carter.

A three by Wofford’s Rachel Brittenham at the 6:33 mark, made it a three-point game, 52-49, but a jumper by Harris as the shot clock ran down gave the Phoenix the five-point edge.

With 1:38 remaining in the game and Elon holding the same advantage of five, 60-55, the Terriers were forced to foul sending Ford to the line twice. The senior made all four free throws to help seal the victory for the Phoenix.