The Furman Paladins welcomed the Southern Conference leader Chattanooga Mocs into Timmons Arena on Thursday, Feb. 29 in their second-to-last contest of the regular season. Sophomore forward Raven Thompson’s double-double, consisting of 14 points and 11 points, spearheaded Chattanooga’s victory.
Furman’s starting guard, junior Tate Walters, picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter, and therefore, was subbed only three minutes into the game. This quarter saw three lead changes and an eventual 9-0 Chattanooga run.
A pair of free throws from sophomore guard Jaelyn Acker ended the Mocs’ run, seemingly shifting the momentum towards Furman. Then, junior forward Kate Johnson grabbed a rebound off the glass and was fouled on the put-back attempt. She sank both free throws to cut the Chattanooga lead to four points. The first quarter ended with the Paladins trailing 18-13.
Two consecutive Chattanooga three-pointers pushed the Mocs lead to 12 points in the second quarter. These were just two of Chattanooga’s five made threes in the first half.
Later in the half, Furman’s sophomore guard Niveya Henley was first whistled for a personal foul and then for a technical. Entering the break, the Mocs had all the momentum as Furman was behind 33-21.
The tides began to switch in the third quarter when Furman was down by as many as 16. A layup from junior forward Jada Session lit the fuse, and Furman capped off the quarter with an 8-0 run. The Paladins entered the fourth quarter trailing by eight, 46-38.
After an exchange of buckets throughout the fourth quarter, Johnson and Session sank two free throws each to trim Chattanooga’s lead down to four with 20 seconds on the clock. The Mocs, unfortunately, held onto the 60-53 win with two free throws of their own.
Johnson paced Furman with 16 points, while Session added 15 points and six rebounds.
With this loss, Furman drops to 14-15 (4-9 SoCon); Chattanooga moves to 24-4 (12-1 SoCon). Furman will next host East Tennessee State in their regular season finale in Timmons Arena on Saturday, March 2 at 6 p.m.
