BOONE, N.C. -- Chakeitha Weldon scored 20 points, headlining a group of four double figure scorers, to power Appalachian State past Furman, 85-70, in Southern Conference women's basketball play Monday evening at the Holmes Center.
With the victyo Appalachian State (22-4, 16-2 SoCon), winners of 10 of its last 11 games, maintained its first place tie with Davidson in the SoCon standings. Furman (12-14, 8-9 SoCon), meanwhile, dropped its third straight decision and suffered its sixth defeat in its last seven games.
Weldon was followed by Maryah Sydnor with 18 points, Raven Gary with 12 points, and Anna Freeman with 10 points.
Furman was paced by Teshia Griswold with 17 points.
The Mountaineers took control of the contest early, using an 11-0 run to extend a 6-5 lead into a 17-6 advantage following a Sydnor free throw six minutes into the contest.
A Katie Mallow layup with six minutes to go in the first half game Appalachian State a 35-12 lead, and ASU headed into intermission sporting a 16-point margin, 42-26.
Furman opened with second half with its best stretch of the game, fashioning a 9-2 spurt to make it 44-35 following a Kaitlin Murphy free throw only two and half minutes into the period.
A Sarah Durdaller 3-pointer a half minute later pulled the Paladins to within eight points at 46-38, but that would be as close as Furman would get as the Mountaineers responded with a 17-6 run over the next four minutes to push their advantage to 63-44 following a Weldon layup with 13 minutes left in the game.
Both teams turned in solid shooting performances, canning just north of 47 percent their field goal attempts, but 28 turnovers proved costly for Furman, which was outrebounded 42-31, including 21-11 on the offensive glasses. The Mountaineers outscored the Paladins 56-28 in the paint and took full advantage of Furman's poor ball handling, posting a 34-15 differential in points off turnovers.
Furman will play its third game in five days on Wednesday when it makes the short trip to Spartanburg to take on Wofford in a 6:00 p.m. contest.
