Furman women’s basketball is off to Johnson City, trying to make some headway in the Southern Conference race with a Thursday 7 p.m. clash with East Tennessee State.

Coming off a 58-56 home victory over Mercer on Saturday, Furman (12-9, 2-3 SoCo) hits the road for its next two games.

ETSU (14-6, 3-2 SoCon), which dropped a 54-50 road decision at UNC Greensboro on Saturday, is currently in third place in the league standings, one game behind second-place Wofford.  Furman is in sixth, a half game back of fourth-place UNC and Samford, who are both 3-3 in conference play.

 Beating the Buccaneers in Brooks Gym will be a challenge as ETSU has gone 9-1 at home this year and currently tops the SoCon in scoring defense (53.2 ppg), while ranking second in field-goal-percentage defense (.370).  The Paladins, however, have known success in Johnson City, evident in their 19-13 all-time record there, including wins in two of the last three encounters, though the Buccaneers won last year, 66-63, to complete the two-game season sweep.

In knocking off Mercer in a scrappy contest, first-year head coach Pierre Curtis’ Paladins topped last season’s 11-game victory total.

A more balanced attack, with five players scoring in double figures, is key to the Paladins’ improvement.  They are Jada Session (12.1 ppg), Kate Johnson (11.6), Sydney Ryan (11.5), Niveya Henley (11.2) and Tate Walters (10.0).

Session, a 6-1 junior forward, leads the SoCon in rebounding (8.9 rpg), and is the main reason for the Paladins’ pacing the league on the glass with a +10.5 margin.  Johnson has delivered at a 7.1 clip, indicative of dramatic improvement in her game from a year ago when the 6- 3 junior forward contributed just 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds.

Ryan is another player who has stepped up her game following a solid freshman season. The versatile 5- 11 sophomore from Nashville, Tenn., has gone from .288 three-point shooting last year to her current .433 percent (42/97) clip.

 The return of Henley and Walters to the court after missing the 2022-23 season due to injuries has been a big plus.  Henley (knee) was a SoCon All-Freshman Team pick for the 2021-22 campaign, and Walters (Achilles) earned All-SoCon honors that season after averaging 12.9 poins and 4.5 rebound while registering 137 assists.  Walters, whose 310 career assists is just outside Furman’s career Top 10, hopes to return to action after missing the Mercer contest due to a tender ankle.

Furman’s Thursday clash with East Tennessee State will be followed by a 2 p.m Saturday showdown at league front runner Chattanooga.

The reigning Southern Conference football champion is set to kick off spring practice on Thursday, Feb. 8, head coach Clay Hendrix announced.

Furman’s first practice is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Paladin Stadium — the first of 15 practices scheduled over six weeks, with the program’s annual Purple-White scrimmage set for Saturday, Mar. 16, at 1 p.m. in Paladin Stadium.

All practice dates, times, and locations are subject to change.

Furman’s current active roster features 92 players, including freshman quarterback Trey Hedden, a December 2023 signee and January enrollee who will take part in spring drills.  Two other January freshman additions include strong safety Max Eubanks and defensive tackle Ty Kausarud, both products of IMG Academy.

The Paladins project to return 31 lettermen and 15 players who count starting experience.

 Furman, coming off a 10-3 season a year ago that featured the program’s 15th SoCon championship and a second-round appearance in the FCS playoffs, finished the campaign ranked sixth in the final AFCA FCS Poll.

The Paladins’ top returnees on defense include All-SoCon bandit Luke Clark (53 tackles, 7 TFL, 6.0 sacks), nose guard Xavier Stephens (35 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3 sacks) and inside linebacker Evan DiMaggio (79 tackles, 115 TFL, 5 sacks). Other key returning defenders include bandit Alex Maier (25 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3 sacks), tackle Bryce Stanfield (13 tackles, 4 TFL, 2.5 sacks), end Jeremiah Jackson (12 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 3 sacks), and strong safety Caleb Williams (17 tackles).

Last fall Furman paced the SoCon in most every defensive category and ranked fifth in the FCS with 38 sacks.  Returning Paladins accounted for 23 of the 38 quarterback takedowns. 

On offense, two starters are back along the offensive line in guard Luke Pettit and tackle Fred Norman, Jr. The front will also include guards Blake Hundley and E.J. Wilson, both of whom count starting experience.

Likewise, the wide receiving corps sports two returning regulars in Joshua Harris (42 rec., 380 yds. 2 TDs) and Ben Ferguson (27 rec., 335 yds., TD), along with SoCon All-Freshman selection Colton Hinton (34 rec., 404 yds., 2 TDs).

The top candidate to take over at quarterback is Carson Jones, the SoCon’s Co-Freshman of the Year in 2023. Jones logged a pair of late-season starts after coming off the bench to lead the Paladins to a 17-14 road win over Chattanooga that secured the league championship.

The Paladins boast All-SoCon placekicker Ian Williams (18/24 FGs), who also excels on kickoffs (54 touchdowns on 74 kickoffs in ‘23).

Furman inked 12 recruits in December’s early-signing period and is expected to add to that number on next Wednesday’s (Feb. 7) National Signing Day.

The standard practice days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, all beginning at  4 p.m. (except the spring scrimmage at 1), but weather will undoubtedly lead to adjustments.

Furman’s Cameron Ponder and Lily Feingold are Southern Conference men’s and women’s indoor track and field athletes of the week.

A senior from Winston-Salem, N.C., Ponder competed in the 3,000m Saturday at the Camel City Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C.  He was the top collegiate finisher after logging a time of 7:53.93 in the elite race, which featured four professional runners and four collegiate runners.  Ponder has a nine-second conference lead in the event.

Feingold, a junior from Mt. Pleasant, competed in the Bob Pollock Invitational in Clemson on Friday, where she made her indoor 5,000m debut.  She finished first with a time of 17:22, the fastest time in the SoCon this season.

The weekly award is the first career indoor honors for Feingold, while Ponder’s award is the sixth indoor citation of his career.

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