University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Furman
Furman Rally Upends Asheville, 71-59
11.21.2011 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Kaitlin Murphy overcame early foul trouble to score a game high 19 points and help Furman erase a 16-point second deficit en route to a 71-59 victory over UNC Asheville in women's basketball action Monday evening at Timmons Arena.
Furman (3-1), which trailed 53-37 with a little over 11 minutes remaining, switched to full court pressure to turn the game around, outscoring UNC Asheville 34-6 the rest of the way to secure its third consecutive win.
The Paladins' pressure led to 13 turnovers and just 3-of-16 shooting by the Bulldogs (2-2) over the final 10:48.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Lindsey Thompson, whose 13 points paced four double figure scorers.
Murphy, who picked up two early fouls and played only seven minutes in the first half, was whistled for her third foul only 11 seconds into the second period but came back a couple of minutes later to help ignite Furman's furious comeback, tallying 14 of her 19 points over the game's final 12:39.
Sarah Durdaller, held scoreless in the first half, also played a critical role in Furman's explosive finish, tallying all of her 11 points along with two rebounds and two of her three assists in the decisive run.
Janice Roberts was equally effective, scoring seven of her 10 points and claiming four rebounds, four steals, and an assist down the stretch.
After Kelli Riles' layup with 11:12 to go gave the Bulldogs a 53-37 advantage, the Paladins put together a 21-4 run to take a 58-57 lead following a Durdaller layup with 4:23 to go.
The Bulldogs' struggles against Furman's full court press continued with turnovers on its next four possessions, which the Paladins converted into nine points, including five by Durdaller and four by Murphy, whose jump shot with 2:57 remaining put the Paladins up, 67-57.
Furman finished the contest with a 21-2 run, with UNC Asheville's only basket over the final 6:15 coming with three seconds remaining in the contest.
Asheville shot 38.0 percent (27-of-71) to Furman's 36.5 percent (23-of-63), but the Paladins outscored the Bulldogs by 21 points at the free throw line, converting 22-of-30 attempts while the Bulldogs made just one of six tries.
Furman, which trailed 34-31 at halftime, forced UNC Asheville into 14 turnovers over the game's final 20 minutes.
Lashana Booker scored eight points for Furman and claimed a game high 10 rebounds to go along with five blocks.
The Bulldogs will next be in action on Sunday when they travel to Fairfax, Va., to take on George Mason. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
