The Furman Paladins welcomed the Western Carolina Catamounts into Timmons Arena on Sunday, Feb. 11. Furman got behind quickly in the first quarter after only shooting 20% from the field. Western Carolina scored eight of their points in the paint compared to Furman’s four. The quarter ended with the Catamounts up 18-8.

Western Carolina was up by 12 early in the second quarter, but Furman began to slowly close in on their lead. Two free throws by sophomore guard Niveya Henley got Furman within six. With a minute left in the half, Henley made a layup to cut Western Carolina’s advantage to 26-23. Junior forward Jada Session intercepted a Catamount pass in the next possession and took it down the court for a layup. The first half ended with the Paladins down three, 28-25.

The third quarter continued with Western narrowly leading. Furman sophomore guard Sydney Ryan drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the score for the first time in the game.

Western led the fourth quarter up until the final minute. Senior guard Sydney James got a steal that led to an and-one Session layup to tie the game at 53-53. Session sank her free throw to give the Dins their first lead of the game.

Henley then made one of two free throws. Junior guard Tate Walters was also fouled and went one of two. James made two more free throws to finish Furman’s 9-0 scoring run and put the Dins up by three. At the final buzzer, James blocked a three-point attempt from Western’s sophomore guard Nicole Azar to cement the 58-53 win for Furman.

Ryan paced the team with 15 points. Session added 14, while Henley scored 12. James led the team in rebounds with nine.

Following this victory, Furman goes to 13-12 on the season and 3-8 in the Southern Conference. Furman will finish their homestand on Thursday, Feb. 15 as they play rival Wofford 15-8 (7-2 SoCon) at 7 p.m.