A three-point play in the final minute led Furman to a 58-53 victory over Western Carolina and an end to a three-game losing skein.

The game, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, was played instead on Sunday at Timmons Arena.

Session’s fast break layup, assisted by Tate Walters off a steal by Sydney James, tied the game at 53-53 with 51 seconds remaining.  Her ensuing free throw gave Furman its first lead of the game.

Niveya Henley and Walters both conveted 1/2 free throws to give Furman (13-12, 3-6 SoCon) a 56-53 lead, and James finished off the Catamounts by sinking two foul shots with 13 seconds remaining.

The final-minute lead change was the only one in the game, which was tied only twice. The final deadlock was at the end of the third quarter when Sydney Ryan buried a three-pointer.

Western Carolina (6-18, 1-8) scored the first six points of the fourth period on baskets by Lonasia Brewer and Tyja Beans, which sandwiched a pair of Chelsea Wooten free throws, provided a 51-45 lead with 6:26 remaining.  The Catamounts, however, went scoreless over the next five minutes, allowing the Paladins to chip away and grab their first lead of the game on Session’s three-point play.

Ryan led Furman with 15 points, followed by Session with 14 and Henley with 12.

Brewer led all scorers with 20 points.

James paced Furman with nine rebounds, helping the Paladins to a virtual draw on the glass with injured junior forward Kate Johnson sidelined for the second straight game.

Walters, seeing her first action after missing the last four contests with injury, was plagued by foul trouble and played only seven minutes before delivering the winning assist.

It was a shooting struggle for both teams, with Furman connecting on 16/48 (.333) and Western Carolina 21/57 (.366). The Paladins outscored the Catamounts by 15 points af the free-throw line, downing 23/30 chances to just 8/13 for WCU.  Furman also forged a 16-7 edge on points off turnovers.

The Paladins wrap up their three-game homestand on Thursday against Wofford in a 7 p.m. contest.

Take a look at the stats here.

For the third consecutive year, Furman senior Anna Morgan has been invited to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which will be held April 3-6.

An international field of 72 women amateurs, including the top 43 eligible amateurs in the final World Amateur Golf Ranking of 2023, will compete over 54 holes of stroke play. 

Beginning the week prior to the 88th Masters Tournament, the field will compete across 54 holes of stroke play, with a cut to 30 players and ties taking place after 36 holes. The first two rounds will take place on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club on Wednesday, April 3, and Thursday, April 4.  The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round on Friday, April 5.  The final round, featuring competitors who made the cut, will take place on Saturday, April 6, at Augusta National.

UNC Wilmington rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to edge Furman, 3-2, in the final game of the season-opening UNCW Tournament at Boseman Field in Wilmington, N.C., on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Ainsley Yoshizumi put the Paladins in front, 2-0, in the top of the second with an inside-the-park homer down the left-field line following Hannah Poole’s double, but UNCW scratched across single runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings to snap the Paladins season-opening four-game winning streak.

The Furman men’s tennis team generated its third consecutive victory, and fifth in its last six matches, on Sunday morning by dropping the Xavier Musketeers, 5-2, at Mickel Tennis Center.
With the win, Furman improves its record to 6-4 on the season. Xavier falls to 1-7 overall.

The Paladins won both completed doubles matches at No. 2 and No. 3, claiming the opening point. The Paladins opened singles play by winning three consecutive matches at Nos. 1, 2, and 4 to put away the Musketeers.

Marshall (8-2) dispatched the women’s tennis team, 5-2, in Huntington, W.Va., on Sunday.

Paladin freshmen won tie-breakers to pick up singles wins at flights two and five.  Maeve Thornton outlasted Emma Vanderheyden, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7) at flight two, and Macy Hitchcock came from behind for a 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7) victory over Aisling McGrane at number five. 

Furman (1-4) returns home to face Harvard Saturday at 11 a.m. at Mickel Tennis Center.

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