The Southern Conference champion apparent, Chattanooga, had too much for a game Furman team in a 60-53 victory over the Paladins on Thursday night at Timmons Arena.

Raven Thompson scored 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to power the Mocs.

Chattanooga (24-4, 12-1 SoCon), the regular-season champion, used a strong first half to take a 33-21 lead that the Paladins couldn’t overcome.

Furman’s Kate Johnson, returning from injury, led all scorers with 16 points, and Jada Session added 15.

The Paladins trailed 46-30 with under five minutes to go in the third quarter before closing the period with an 8-0 run to trim UTC’s lead to 46-38.

Furman (14-15, 4-9) stayed within striking distance in the fourth quarter, slicing Chattanooga’s edge to five points on three occasions, the latest following a pair of Johnson free throws with 52 seconds to go.

Session converted the second of two free throws with 20 seconds remaining to pull Furman to within 57-53, but Chattanooga answered with free throws to secure the win.

Jada Guinn tallied 12 points, and Addie Porter contributed 11 to join Thompson in double figures.

Chattanooga finished the contest shooting .444 (20/45) from the field.

The Mocs outscored the Paladins 18-0 from 3-point range, connecting on 6/17 treys while Furman went 0/10. Furman shot .364 from the field (18/51).

Jada Guinn led the Mocs with 12 points, and Addie Porter joined Thompson with 11.

The Paladins wrap up the regular season on Saturday when they play host to East Tennessee State in a 6 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.

Take a look at the stats here.

The Paladin Classic softball tournament was postponed and rearranged in deference to heavy rain in the Upstate on Friday.

The tourney, which features the Paladins, Akron and South Dakota, was scheduled to begin with a pair of games on Friday. Play is now scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Sunday’s schedule has been adjusted to add an extra game between the Zips and Coyotes at 10 a.m. Furman’s pair of games on Sunday have been moved back to 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Furman (9-5) returns home after going 2-2 at Coastal Carolina’s Battle at the Beach last weekend in Conway. Furman opened tournament play with an impressive 13-8 win over ACC member Louisville before falling to Bowling Green. On Sunday, the Paladins bounced back with a 5-3 victory over the Falcons prior to an 8-2 loss versus the host Chanticleers in the final game of the weekend.

Ashlee Lykins, Sylvia Burroughs and Kiley Perry have led the Furman offense in the first two weeks of the season. Lykins is batting a team-best .362 with a pair of triples and six stolen bases while Burroughs is hitting .333 with five doubles, a homer, and 10 runs batted in. Perry leads the Paladins with three homers and 15 RBI so far.

Furman’s pitching staff has thus far reflected outstanding depth, led by senior righthander Sierra Tufts. The Chula Vista, Calif., native is 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA in her first seven starts and has limited opponents to a .224 batting average over 35 innings of work.

Junior Lauralee Scott is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in seven appearances while fellow junior Emme Buzhardt has totaled five saves and fashioned a 3.61 ERA in a team-high nine appearances.

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