If Furman is to make an unlikely run in the women’s basketball bracket at the Ingles SoCon Championship, the Paladins will need to put together more performances like Thursday evening’s 74-70 road upset at Chattanooga.
Tate Walters converted two free throws to tie the game and followed it up with a go-ahead basket with 12 seconds remaining in overtime to propel Furman to a victory over the Mocs at McKenzie Arena.
The win earned Furman (15-14, 5-8 SoCon) the season split with Chattanooga (13-13, 8-5) and halted the Paladins’ six-game series losing skid to the Mocs.

After Chattanooga’s Brooke Anya delivered a pair of free throws to put Chattanooga ahead 70-68 with 1:04 remaining, Walters was fouled and sent to the line, where she sank two free throws to tie it with 50 seconds on the clock. The Mocs turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, after which Furman ran the clock down before Chantelle Stuart delivered a bounce pass to Walters, who cut into lane for a pull-up 13-foot jump shot to give Furman the 72-70 lead.

Chattanooga turned it over again on the inbounds pass, and Jada Session put down a free throw to push the lead to 73-70. The Mocs couldn’t convert on their game tying 3-pointer, and Walters finished off the scoring with a free throw with three seconds to go.
Walters led all scorers with 19 points, connecting on 6/12 shots and 6/8 opportunities at the stripe.
Sydney Ryan, who buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 61-61 and force overtime, followed with 18 points, and Session and Clare Coyle rounded out Furman’s double figure scoring effort with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Caia Eliisadez paced Chattanooga with 18 points.

Karsen Murphy’s 3-pointer with 6:23 to go in regulation gave Chattanooga a 52-47 lead, but Furman answered with a Ryan trey and basket by Coyle to knot the game with 4:27 remaining.
Gianna Corbitt ripped the net with a corner 3-pointer to give UTC a 61-58 lead with 25 seconds on the clock, but the Paladins responded on their next trip down the court when Ryan bottomed out a triple from the left wing off an assist from Stuart with 19 seconds remaining.

Furman used solid shooting to remain perfect (3-0) in overtime games this year, dialing in on 28/56 attempts from the field, which helped overcome a 13/21 effort (.619) at the free throw line.
Chattanooga shot .390 (23/59) from the field and committed 15 turnovers, which led to a 21-14 Furman advantage on points off miscues.
The Paladins play their regular season finale at 2p.m. Saturday at East Tennessee State.

Take a look at the stats here.

Furman concludes its regular season schedule with a short trip up I-85 on Saturday afternoon to face the Wofford Terriers in SoCon men’s action at Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg.
Saturday’s 2 p.m. match-up will mark the 157th meeting between the Paladins and Terriers with Furman holding a 92-64 series advantage. Wofford took the first meeting of the season between the rivals with an 81-62 victory at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Jan. 13 behind 19 points from guard Dillon Bailey. Charles Johnston led Furman with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Entering the regular-season finale, the Paladins (22-8, 10-7 SoCon) and Terriers (16-14, 10-7) are tied for fifth in the league standings. The winner of Saturday’s game earns a spot in the No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed quarterfinal round match-up at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, at the SoCon Men’s Basketball Championship in Asheville, N.C. The loser is relegated to the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 3 seed in the quarterfinal round on March 8 at 6 p.m. at Harrah’s Cherokee Center.

Furman ran its winning streak to three games and reached the 22-win plateau for the seventh time in nine seasons with an 85-42 victory over The Citadel in the home finale on Wednesday night at The Well. The Citadel’s .250 shooting effort was the lowest allowed by the Paladins this season, and the 42 points were the fewest versus a Furman team during the Bob Richey era. PJay Smith Jr. and Tom House led the Paladins with 19 points apiece while Garrett Hien scored 14 points to reach 1,000 career points.

The Terriers scored a 90-67 victory at Western Carolina on Wednesday to win for the fourth time in their last six outings. Guard Corey Tripp leads Wofford averaging 14.3 points per game.
Saturday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can listen to the action on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, and via the Audacy app.
Shorts
No. 40 Furman blanked UNC Greensboro, 7-0, Thursday in Southern Conference women’s tennis action at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C. Furman swept all six singles matches in straight sets. The Paladins (8-2, 2-0 SoCon) hit the road next week to take on Belmont Monday at 2 p.m. in Nashville, Tenn. Furman will also square off at Austin Peay State on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Clarksville, Tenn.

The Furman indoor track and field teams will compete at the Southern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships this Friday and Saturday at the Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington, Va. … The Furman softball team dropped a midweek doubleheader to the USC Upstate Spartans by scores of 6-1 and 8-3 Wednesday evening at Pepsi Stadium. Furman drops to 5-11 on the season while USC Upstate improves to 15-1 overall. Spartan starter Sierra Maness tossed a complete game after surrendering an unearned run on three hits, one walk, and six strikeouts. Lauralee Scott got the start for the Paladins and took the loss, giving up six runs (five earned), three walks and four strikeouts over 6-1/3 innings.

Words can ill express my appreciation for the assistance I’ve been getting from lifelong friends and acquaintances in regard to my recent health struggles. I am deeply touched at the concern of people I’ve known for most of my life.
The coming months will bring more change, and I don’t know yet what shape it will take.
From time to time, I have thought it a shame that people don’t often know what others think of them while they are alive. I’ve had a rough go of it recently, but I know that others respect, appreciate and support me.
Thanks for reading my stories, overlooking my flaws and indulging our differences.

My books, most of them fiction, are available at Amazon and on other bookseller sites. I’ve written two novels about stock-car racing, Lightning in a Bottle, and the sequel, Life Gets Complicated, both about fictional young driver Barrie Jarman.
Thanks for putting up with me.