GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Teshia Griswold scored 13 points and Patrice Butler tallied 12 to key Furman to a 67-48 victory over visiting UNCG in women's Southern Conference basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

Griswold's 13-point effort, a product of 5-for-10 shooting and conversions on both free throw attempts, highlighted a season best 46.7 percent shooting effort (28-for-60) by Furman (6-8, 2-3 SoCon), which won for the third time in its last four outings and claimed its fifth straight verdict in its series with UNCG (3-11, 0-5 SoCon).

Butler, a 6-foot-2 freshman forward from Norcross, Ga., who had scored only eight points in limited action prior to Saturday's contest, fashioned a breakout performance, draining 6-of-7 shots and claiming four rebounds in just 11 minutes of action.

"We were really pleased with our offensive mindset, attacking the basket well and not shooting as many threes because they haven't been falling," said Furman head coach Jackie Carson following the game.

"Patrice finally showed everyone what everybody in our program already knew about her.  She was out for four weeks with an injury and was out of shape, but now she's getting back into it and starting to contribute."  

Two of Butler's six baskets were set up by junior guard Brigid Morrissey, who racked up a career high 10 assists, and three more followed passes from Kaitlin Murphy, who tallied five dishes along with five points and three steals.  The Paladins' 22 assists marked a season high.

"That's Brigid game.  She's a set-em-up point guard. She doesn't care about points but thrives getting her teammates involved, and she did that very well today."

Butler scored eight of her 12 points in the final six minutes of the first half, helping the Paladins extend a 16-12 lead to a 24-14 advantage with 2:57 to go in the opening period.  Furman took a 32-20 lead into the locker room after Murphy stole the ball and dribbled the length of the court before connecting on a runner in the lane as time expired.

The Paladins maintained their double digit lead in the second half, twice stretching it to 18 points on layups by Butler.

A Kelsey Ellis 3-pointer with 9:26 remaining put Furman firmly in control, 53-32, and a Murphy three-ball on Furman's next possession made it 56-32, marking the Paladins' largest lead of the game.

Janae' Stevenson led UNCG with 15 points and a game high 11 rebounds, but the Spartans were handicapped by a 29.7 percent shooting effort, making good on just 22-of-74 attempts.

UNCG freshman Lucy Mason, the nation's top scoring freshman entering Saturday's game, was limited to just eight points on 3-for-17 shooting.

UNCG used a 25-14 advantage on the offensive boards to post a 46-43 rebounding advantage.

Butler's season-high 12-point performance helped Furman's bench double up UNCG's reserves by a 34-17 margin.

Furman returns to action on Tuesday when it entertains Davidson in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.