Furman Paladins Women’s Basketball Heads North to Face USC Upstate Spartans
Furman Paladins Women’s Basketball (6-4) takes a short ride north up I85 to face the USC Upstate Spartans (4-6) with a winning streak on the line for first year coach Pierre Curtis. The team has really been showing major signs of improvement, and after a historic defeat of Bob Jones by winning by 80 points which is a Furman record for a victory, they look to keep the Spartans from raining on their parade.
The tipoff is upon us as Furman Women’s Basketball is ready. and USC Upstate is firing three points shot up and making it its 5-2 Spartans lead. The game is really fast paced, lots of shots up, and steals so far in the game. Furman is down 7-6 with the first timeout tonight in the game. Three Paladins with 2 points, Walters, Session, Grier so far on the boards for the Paladins.
Furman takes its first lead of the game 8-7, and the Spartans grab it back 11-10. USC Upstate is really pushing the Paladins pace in this game, as Furman steals the ball and takes it down to keep the game in reach as the Spartans lead 15-11. The first quarter is over, and we have a 19-11 ball game with Spartans in the lead.
Furman comes out of the timeout pushing the ball around and gets a shot in and now its 19-13. The score now 21-20 Furman keeping the Spartans close even with the fast pace shooting and movement. Furman is battling some great ball movement by the Spartans tonight; the score is now 23-22 with 5 minutes left in the game. The fans are hot as the Lady Paladins have been taking some really bad calls and it has reached a fever pitch here in the arena.
There is 3:52 left in the half as the Spartans have the lead 26-25 with the Paladins fighting to stay near them in the score after leading very briefly. Furman goes up 32-28 as the quarter ends with the half over and they go into the locker room leading 32-28.
Halftime stats brought to you by Arden’s Burger and Grill is Furman players: 15 points off the bench, 6 in the paint, and 7 off turnovers. Leading scorers are Sydney Ryan with 10 points, Tate Walters with 6 points and Grier and Henly with 5 points apiece.
The Paladins come out with a new energy and moving around the ball to get the best score and leading now 34-30 with 8 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. The first media timeout with 7:20 left in the quarter and its Furman still in the lead 34-32 and the fouls are coming fast. Furman with zero fast break points and second chance points tonight has to have Coach Curtis having fits even with his team leading the game. The game is at a fever pitch 39-36 as we have a timeout on the floor with 4:58 left in the 3rd quarter. Sydney Ryan still leading the way with 10 points, 5 rebounds, Tate Walters with 6 points and 3 rebounds, and Niveya Henley with 7 points and 2 rebounds.
A great crowd turn out for Furman has shown up and they are going nuts over no calls and fouls not being called. USC Upstate has been nailing the 3-point shots and its now 45-40 as then ladies on the floor are getting very physical with each other 45-41. Tate Walters has taken control (12 points) and has Furman back in the lead 46-45 with the end of the 3rd.
We head into the final 10 minutes of this game, Furman clinging to a 1-point lead, as Coach Curtis is hoping to have his team hold its own and get the win. We have a media timeout as Furman is trailing USC Upstate and the Paladin Ladies are giving a great effort tonight.
The Final four minutes of the game is upon us and can Furman get the win over a gutsy Lady Spartans team.
The score is tied and with fouls on both ends the Paladins are still having trouble rebounding to get extra shots. Media timeout with 1:21 left in the game and its 59-56 USC Upstate.
Timeout Furman after Walters to a foul and its 59-58 Spartans, but Furman has the ball with 30 seconds left to get a play off to take the lead and win this game. The game is over as Walters gets hit with a foul, but the team has 2,6 seconds to get the ball back. The game has taken a strange turn, but we are still under a review for the time on the clock. Furman ends up losing the game, but they gave a great effort, but in the end several calls was the end game for Furman.
