The first quarter unfolded as a close contest when Furman’s sophomore guard Jaelyn Acker fed sophomore guard Sydney Ryan a catch-and-shoot three-pointer to tie the game at 11-11. Shortly after, sophomore forward Niveya Henley made a layup to give the Paladins the lead, 13-11. Henley contributed seven of Furman’s first 13 points, leading Furman on a 9-0 run to end the first quarter 15-11.
After another Ryan three-pointer, senior forward Sydney James fed junior center Kate Johnson in the paint to put Furman up by five in the second quarter. The Paladins then went on a 6-0 run with two buckets by senior guard Paraskevi Kolia and a Ryan-and-one, which showed Furman’s offensive control of the game. Mercer went 1 of 8 shooting to end the first half.
Koila replaced junior guard Tate Walters, who was sidelined due to an injury, in the starting lineup and made the most of her start. She contributed to a team-leading six assists.
With five minutes to go in the third quarter, Mercer’s Stacie Jones made a layup off a fast break to cut Furman’s lead to two, 32-30. A couple buckets later and an Acker three-pointer, Furman was up by nine with 1 minute and 43 seconds left in the third quarter. Wrapping up the quarter, Henley drew a foul while scoring a layup, and she sealed the three-point play by sinking the subsequent free throw.
The Bears got within three points with seven minutes left in the game. After a timeout midway through the fourth quarter, Furman started to full-court press Mercer.
James made a jumpshot in the paint to put the Dins up by five. Immediately after, Koila got a steal off a bad pass. She passed it to James, who was then fouled on a layup and made both free throws to extend the lead to 51-46.
James then splashed a three-pointer that was nothing but net. Another Johnson layup put Furman up by seven with a couple minutes to go. With five seconds left, Mercer’s Deja Williams heaved a desperation three-pointer and made the basket, but it was too late as Furman soon beat Mercer 58-56. With this win, Furman improves to 12-9 (2-3 SoCon) and Mercer falls to 8-14 (2-4 SoCon).
Henley paced the Paladins with 14 points and seven boards. Ryan produced 12 points and a team-leading nine rebounds while coming off the bench. James also contributed with 12 points, 10 of which she scored in the second half. Furman outscored the Bears 17-0 in bench points.
Next Thursday, Feb. 8, Furman heads to Greensboro, N.C. to face UNCG (14-7, 3-3 SoCon) at 7 p.m.
