Furman athletics has enjoyed a rather astounding week, emerging from the devastation of Helene.
Life is returning to a semblance of normality in the Upstate. It’s nowhere near normal in western North Carolina. This week’s gut punches occurred mostly in Florida, where Milton landed.
Paladins picking up the pieces as best they can.
First, a look ahead …
Georgia and Washington appear prominently on the women’s basketball schedule released by second-year head coach Pierre Curtis.
The Paladins are to play 29 regular season games, composed of 12 home contests and 17 away games.
Even home is slightly away. Furman will play 10 of its 12 home games at Hayes Gymnasium on the campus of nearby North Greenville University while Timmons Arena, the university’s primary home court, undergoes a $40 million renovation. The Paladins are also set to play host to UNC Greensboro (Jan. 18) and Wofford (Feb. 8) at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville.
Furman tips off the season on the road against South Carolina State (Nov. 4) and entertains Erskine (Nov. 7) in its home opener.
Following games at Georgia (Nov. 10) and East Carolina (Nov. 15), the Paladins return home to take on USC Upstate (Nov. 19) and Bob Jones (Nov. 23).
The Paladins play games on three consecutive days at the Georgia State Thanksgiving Tournament in Atlanta, facing Campbell (Nov. 26), the host Panthers (Nov. 27) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 28).
December includes only one home contest — versus Charleston Southern (Dec. 8) — and will see the Paladins play Boise State (Dec. 18) and Washington (Dec. 19) in the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash.
Furman tips off 2025 at home against Southern Wesleyan (Jan. 1) and, 10 days later, opens Southern Conference play at Wofford (Jan. 11).
The Southern Conference Tournament is Mar. 6-9 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.
The Paladins return their top five scorers and four starters, including All-SoCon performers Jada Session (12.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Kate Johnson (11.2, 6.5) and Tate Walters (10.0, 3.5, 107 assists).
This is Furman’s 50th season of women’s basketball.
Take a look at the schedule here.
Sophomore Maddie Massie scored off a set piece in the 29th minute and Furman’s defense notched its third shutout of the season as the Paladins downed Southern Conference foe UNC Greensboro, 1-0, on Thursday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The victory extended the Paladins’ unbeaten run to eight matches and improved Furman to 6-4-3 overall and 2-0-2 in league play. The Spartans dropped to 4-6-3 overall and 3-1-1 in the SoCon.
“This team played outstanding defense tonight against a very good opponent,” said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr. “As we always talk about, we were low risk at the back, physical when we needed to be physical, and found a way to score on another set piece.”
Furman grabbed the lead at the 28:31 mark on Massie’s second goal of the season. The Paladins earned a corner kick and Ava King served a ball towards the back post that Massie nodded past UNCG goalkeeper Emma Malone to break the deadlock.
UNCG controlled much of the possession on the night, but Furman’s back line of King, Miya Poplin, Katie Bengough and Ellie Herrmann forced the Spartans to take most of their chances from long range. Freshman goalkeeper Reese DeJong, making her first SoCon start, stopped four shots to earn her second clean sheet of the season.
The Paladin victory evened the all-time series between the SoCon rivals at 19-19-4.
Furman continues SoCon play on Sunday afternoon when it travels to Johnson City, Tenn., to face ETSU at 1 p.m.
Furman, playing its first match since Sept. 17, got goals from Caleb Johnson, Landon Hill and Ivan Agyaakwah to down USC Upstate, 3-1, in non-conference men’s soccer at County University Stadium in Spartanburg.
The Paladins, in the midst of a five-game road trip, dominated possession and took the lead in the 33rd minute following a set piece. Luke Hutzell’s corner kick was deflected towards the top of the box and Agyaakwah slid a pass to Johnson to fire into the right-hand corner to give Furman a 1-0 advantage.
In the 54th minute, freshman Ryan Wagner played a pass into the path of Jackson Price down the right wing at the edge of the box. Jackson centered a pass to Hill for the strike into the left-hand side of the net at the 53:13 mark.
Furman upped its lead to 3-0 in the 70th minute as Hutzell’s corner kick found the head of Agyaakwah in the middle of the box that was nodded inside the far, left-side netting.
Guy Ellis helped USC Upstate (1-11-0) avoid the shutout by chipping a shot over goalkeeper Aaron Salinas and off the underside of the crossbar in the 73rd minute for the final 3-1 score.
The Paladins (4-2-2) managed to outshoot Upstate 16-6 and finished with an 8-3 edge in shots on goal. Salinas stopped two shots while Kristian Eek totaled five saves for the Spartans.
Furman opens SoCon play on Saturday night at league rival UNC Greensboro before visiting Presbyterian next Tuesday evening.
The Furman women’s cross country team is ranked second in the NCAA Southeast Region and 14th in the national poll, while the Paladin men’s team ranks sixth in the region, according to the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings.
Furman will compete at the Royals Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 11.
Furman’s Clark Akers (-10) birdied four of his last six holes to tie for sixth Tuesday to conclude play at the Trinity Forest Invitational, hosted by SMU at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas.
A junior from Nashville, Tenn., Akers entered the final round tied for 11th. He finished four strokes behind individual champion Zachary Kingsland (-14) of SMU, who posted a three-day total of 202.
Junior Harris Barth (-8) shot a 1-under 71 with four birdies to tie for 11th.
UNLV (-34) won the tournament by two strokes over Loyola Marymount (-32), with host SMU (-30) taking third place. Southern Cal (-26) place fourth, followed by Louisiana (-18) in fifth, and the Paladins (-16) in sixth place.
The Paladins will compete at High Point’s Qubein Cup, Oct. 14-15, in Greensboro, N.C.
Furman’s Audrey Ryu is Southern Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week.
A sophomore from Dublin, Ohio, Ryu finished fourth at Old Dominion’s Evie Odom Invitational in Virginia Beach, Va., leading the Paladins to a second-place finish in the 14-team, 78-player field.
Akers is SoCon Men’s Golfer of the Week.
A junior from Nashville, Tenn., Akers tied for sixth Tuesday at the Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas, Texas.
Wellpilgrim.com is back in my dingy living room, where there is electricity and wi-fi again. For now, I have closed my offices at Zaxby’s and Bojangles’, and I wish to acknowledge restaurants and, for one day, the public library, for keeping me minimally in business.
I hate to ask for help because there are so many more needy than I, but …
Support the advertisers. They are all fine people who support my efforts, not to mention those of the kids, coaches, parents and fans.
In the off chance you’d like to read my novels and other books, they’re available on Amazon and many prominent bookseller sites. You can read them on your phones and other devices for a modest cost. I make a bit more if you purchase the actual books, but what I mainly want is for folks to read them.
Read my NASCAR novels, Lightning in a Bottle and Life Gets Complicated, both concerning the irreverent adventures of Barrie Jarman. Download them for your devices, or order in paperback. Lightning in a Bottle is available in an audio version.
Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports., there haven’t been many to take.
Thanks for putting up with me.
Nightrider's Lament 