Laura Echols, the Southern Conference's leading scorer, finished the season with 21 points Friday in Western Carolina's 77-59 loss to Furman in the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament She was named to the all-conference team. - Photo by Mark Haskett |
Furman used an 18-6 run to close the first half and added 45 second period points Friday in posting a 77-59 victory over Western Carolina in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at Furmanıs Timmons Arena.
The Lady Cats' season ended with a 13-15 record. The Lady Paladins were led by Torrie Scott with 18 points. Kim Lawrence added 14 points while Kena Hodges had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Westernıs Laura Echols was the game's top scorer with 21 points, and April Fleck netted 15. "Our shots just didn't fall though we played good defense," Coch Beth Dunkenberger said. "Furman playing on their home court was a huge advantage. It doesn't happen very often, even though that was not the reason they won They just hit their shots as time was running out." Furman scored the first two points of the game on a field goal by Lawrence and never trailed though the Lady Cats tied the score once and were as close as 24-16 with 3:07 left in the first half. The Lady Paladins held WCU to three points in the final three minutes while scoring eight to take a 32-19 lead into halftime. Furman shot 50 percent from the floor while holding Western to 40 percent shooting. The Lady Paladins dominated the boards 45-27. Both teams were plagued by turnovers as Western had 24 while Furman totaled 23. "Furman played good team defense," Dunkenberger said. "We had an opportunity to get in the paint, but they are the most aggressive team in the league." |