GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's women's basketball team will make its second appearance in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) this Thursday when it travels to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech in a first round matchup at Cassell Coliseum.
Tipoff time and broadcast plans will be announced Tuesday.
The WNIT, a single elimination event now in its 22nd year, features 64 teams composed of 29 automatic qualifiers and 35 at-large selections. Furman (19-13, 9-5 SoCon), by virtue of its second place Southern Conference regular season finish, earned the SoCon's automatic qualifier. Virginia Tech (20-11, 6-10 ACC) is an at-large selection to the field.
The winner of the Furman-Virginia Tech game will play the winner of the Charlotte vs. VCU matchup at a date and site to be determined. All games are hosted by participating schools. The championship game will be played on Saturday, April 6, at 3:00 p.m. and televised on the CBS Sports Network.
"We are excited for another opportunity for our young team to keep playing in the post-season WNIT," said Furman head coach Jackie Carson, now in her ninth year at the helm of the Paladin program. "I am so proud of the effort and grit our ladies have shown the last few weeks of the regular season and in the SoCon Tournament. We look forward to building on that in my home state against a very good Virginia Tech team."
The post-season appearance is the fourth since 2014 and sixth in program history. The Paladins played in NCAA Tournaments in 1995 and 2000, made their first WNIT appearance in 2014 against Auburn, and played in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in 2015 and 2018.
Furman, a SoCon preseason third place pick a poll of league coaches, finished second in the regular season with a strong stretch run, going 5-2 over the second half of the conference campaign to finish 9-5 in league play. In SoCon Tournament action the Paladins disposed of Samford, 67-52, in first round action and Chattanooga, 73-67, in the semifinals before falling to regular season champion Mercer in the championship, 66-63, in Asheville, N.C.
The Paladins head into the WNIT led by a pair of All-SoCon performers — junior guard Le'Jzae Davidson (16.9 ppg) and sophomore center Celena Taborn (11.5 ppg).
Davidson ranks fourth in the SoCon in scoring and leads the league in 3-pointers made (84), as well as free throws made (124), attempted (147), and percentage (.844). The 5-foot-5, Nashville, Tenn., guard, who collected second team SoCon All-Tournament honors, has climbed to 12th on Furman's all-time scoring list with 1,311 points.
Taborn combined for 28 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks in the SoCon Tournament semfinials and finals to collect second team all-tournament accolades. The 6-foot-3, Sydney, Ohio, product tops to the conference in field goal percentage (.645).
Sidelined for seven games in December and early January with a foot injury, redshirt sophomore forward Tierra Hodges (7.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg) fashioned an outstanding tournament en route to garnering first team all-tourney laurels, tallying 43 points and 32 rebounds in the three games.
Another player who played a pivotal role in the Paladins' strong stretch run was junior guard Taylor Petty, a first team all-tourney pick who averaged 10.6 points over the last 10 games and scored a season high 22 points in the championship game versus Mercer.
Furman sports one of the league's best defenders in senior forward Kaitlyn Duncan (5.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg), who ranks third in the SoCon with 42 blocks, and SoCon All-Freshman Team selection, point guard Milica Manojlovic, who delivered 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists in the Paladins' tournament semfinial victory over Chattanooga.
The Paladins pace the SoCon in free throw percentage (.742), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.283), and rebounding margin (+3.6), and rank second in the league in field goal percentage defense (.385).