Led by the Sydneys – Ryan scored 16 and James 14 — Furman dominated the second half and dispatched North Carolina Central, 73-63, at Timmons Arena in a Sunday women’s basketball matinee.

It took a third-quarter surge – Furman outscored the Eagles, 24-11 — for the Paladins to close out the year. NCCU (5-8) led by seven points (36-29) at halftime.

James scored 10 of her 14 points and Ryan nine of her 16 in the third quarter.

The duo combined to go 5/5 from three-point range over the first 10 minutes of the second half to fuel the comeback, with each delivering a trey in an 8-0 run that gave Furman (9-6) its first lead of the second half at 42-40 following a James fast-break layup with 4:40 remaining.
North Carolina Central opened the fourth quarter with a pair of baskets to trim the lead to 53-51, but the Paladins responded with a 13-0 burst to take total command, capped off by a Niveya Henley lay-in for a 66-51 advantage with 5:22 to go.

Ryan, a sophomore forward from Brentwood, Tenn., and James, a senior wing from Ocala, Fla., connected on 11/14 field goal attempts in the contest, including 6/8 from 3-point range.

Furman shot 9/20 (.450) from beyond the arc, finishing 28/65 (.431) overall.
Kate Johnson followed the Sydneys in the scoring column with 13 points and Henley added 10.
Johnson’s nine rebounds led the Paladins’ solid work. The Southern Conference boards leader padded its stats with a 49-33 edge.

The game’s leading scorer was NCCU’s Kimeira Burks with 21 points.

Furman’s Paraskevi Koilia dished out a career-best 10 assists in the stead of starting point guard Kennedy Grier, who did not play due to illness.

Neither team conducted a clinic at the free-throw line. Furman hit 8/16, N.C. Central 3/8.

The Eagles forced 21 Paladin turnovers. Fortunately, Furman forced 15 in return.

Take a look at the stats here.

Cally Chizik, Furman’s senior defensive back, made the Walter Camp FCS All-America team.

The Auburn, Ala., product and All-Southern Conference selection was a key contributor from his spur position, amassing 64 tackles and a team-leading five interceptions in Furman’s 10-3 campaign that included a SoCon championship and FCS quarterfinal-round playoff appearance.

Chizik, son of former Auburn head coach and current North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, delivered more than his share of big plays. To wit: an interception on the final play in a 31-28 road victory over Kennesaw State; a career high 13-tackle performance in a 27-21 road win over defending league champion Samford; and an interception at the goal line that halted a scoring threat in Furman’s 29-17 road victory over then-eighth-ranked Western Carolina.

One of seven Paladin defenders named all-conference, Chizik was part of Furman’s SoCon leading defense. The Paladins headed the league in rushing defense (96.9 ypg), total defense (316.0), scoring defense (18.2 ppg), sacks (38), third-down percentage defense (.322), fourth-down conversion defense (.385), red-zone-percentage defense (.722), interceptions (18), turnovers gained (27), and turnover margin (+1.31).

 Chizik saw action in 45 games during his Paladin career and was credited with 140 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, nine interceptions, and 17 pass breakups. 

He returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns, and his fumble recovery in overtime preserved a 44-37 win over Samford in 2020.

Happy New Year. I’m cautiously optimistic. It couldn’t possibly be worse. Oh, wait. There’s an election.

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Thanks so much for the recent contributions. My goal is to provide unique coverage of local sports. I’m aware that folks appreciate what I do, particularly the kids, coaches, parents and fans.

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