CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Furman wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was tough in the clutch during the waning stages of Thursday night’s 84-69 victory over Western Carolina.

Western Carolina scored the game’s first six points, but once the Paladins took a 15-13 edge, they never trailed again, though they never put it away until the final three minutes. Furman (11-7, 1-0) guarded the lead as if it were cast in gold.

Sydney Ryan, the senior forward from Ocala, Fla., led a plethora of double-figure scorers with 19 points for the Paladins.

The Paladins, picked 10^th and seventh in preseason picks, broke one up in the Southern Conference race by defeating, as expected, Western Carolina (5-11, 0-1), in both teams’ first game within the sorority, and sisterhood, of league rivals.

Late in a tight first quarter, a bit of a tussle ensued between Furman’s Jada Session and Western Carolina’s Lonasia Brewer. After technical calls were assessed both, the Catamounts emerged with a 15-13 lead until Ryan scored to tie it again. Niveya Henley’s follow at the buzzer put the Paladins ahead 20-15 after a quarter, even though Furman only hit a third of its shots.

That was about the Catamounts’ speed, too.

Furman picked it up in the second quarter. After the first 2:14, the Paladins led, 27-18. Ryan reached double figures before the halfway point of the period. Furman led by as many as 12 points, but the shooting instruments went awry late and the Paladins settled for a 39-34 edge at intermission.

What’s more, five Furman players had at least two fouls, and Tate Walters had three. Audrey Meyers had three fouls for the Catamounts in only five minutes on the court.

It was Sydney James who scored the Paladins’ first eight points of the second half, but still the Paladins couldn’t shake the Catamounts, who clawed their way within three on Jada Burton’s triple with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter. The lead remained five (59-54) when the final period commenced.

Mya Love again brought WCU within three with 7:50 to play. She led the Cats with 12 points.

At last, Furman put the Catamounts away in the final two minutes, largely due to triples by James and Henley and unerring accuracy at the free-throw line.

The win was Furman’s fourth straight and 11th in a row over Western Carolina. In his first season, head coach Pierre Curtis has equaled last season’s victory total.

Ryan, a sophomore forward, came off the bench to connect on 6/8 shots, including 3/5 triples, and all four free throw opportunities in 25 minutes of action.  She was followed in the scoring column by Sydney James and Henley with 14 points apiece, and Kate Johnson with 13. Session, who played just seven minutes in the first half, scored nine of her 11 points in the second half and also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the season.

Furman shot .413 percent from the field, making good on 26/63 attempts, and Western Carolina converted in similar fashion, making 25/60 (.417).  A big difference in the contest came at the free-throw line, where Furman knocked down a season-high 26/30 (.867) compared to Western Carolina’s 13/18.

The Paladins, who entered the game ranked 12th in the nation in rebounding margin (+12.7), finished this time with a 44-32 advantage. Kate Johnson trailed Session with a nine rebounds.

Furman’s seven turnovers marked a season low. 

The Paladins play at UNC Greensboro on Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest.

Take a look at the stats here.

Men’s tennis begins its season on the road this weekend when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and Penn Quakers in a pair of non-conference matches.
The Paladins begin their season on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Tennessee, followed by a 9 a.m. matchup on Sunday morning versus Penn at Tennessee’s Goodfriend Tennis Center.

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