GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Brittany Hodges, the Southern Conference's Preseason Player of the Year, opened her senior season in record setting fashion, scoring 17 points and grabbing a school record 24 rebounds to power  Furman to a 67-60 victory over Davidson in the 2014-15 season opener for both teams Friday evening at Timmons Arena.

Hodges, a consensus All-SoCon forward, capped her brilliant performance by draining two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to become the 19th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club.  The 6-foot-1 Powder Springs, Ga., native also tacked on three blocks and a steal in 36 minutes of action to key Furman's successful opener in front of 1,116 fans.

Hodges' 24 caroms topped her previous career high of 17 rebounds recorded last year in a win over Wofford and bested the old Furman standard of 23 rebounds registered by Natalie Cleckley versus Western Carolina in 1991.  The double-double was the 23rd of her career.  She made 6-of-14 shots from the field and converted 5-of-7 free throws.

Furman (1-0) got a game high 18 points, including 14 in the second half, from sophomore point guard Whitney Bunn, who also tallied seven assists, and 12 points and nine rebounds from Sarah Durdaller.

Davidson (0-1) placed four players in double figures, led by Hannah Early's 15 points.  Dakota Dukes finished with 12 points, and Makenzie Latt garnered 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats.

A year ago Furman used a late season, 69-62 win over Davidson in Greenville to slip past the Wildcats for second place in the standings, and Friday's opener proved to be near replay as the game was close throughout.

Davidson's Mellissa Giegerich gave the Wildcats a 48-45 lead, their largest of the second half, with a layup with 5:39 to go, but a Kelsey Ellis 3-pointer from the right wing tied it 27 seconds later.

Knotted at 52-52 following a pair of Early free throws with 4:05 remaining, the game's balance shifted at that point behind Bunn, who rolled in back-to-back running bank shots in the lane to give the Paladins a 56-52 advantage.

After Davidson cut it to 56-54 on a Dukes layup at the 3:15 mark, Furman's Allison Beasley took a pass from Holli Wilkins and nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to stretch the Paladin lead to 59-54.

Bunn upped it to 60-54 with a free throw with two and half minutes to go and then answered a Davidson tally with another driving layup for a 62-56 Furman advantage.

Saadia Timpton pulled the Wildcats to within four at 62-58 with a minute remaining, but two free throws by Durdaller and Hodges — the latter coming with 21 second remaining to get her to 1,000 career points — sealed the game's outcome.

Furman finished the contest shooting 39.1 percent from the field, making 25-of-64 shots but just 2-of-10 from 3-point range.  Davidson shot 38.0 percent (27-of-71) and made just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.

The Paladins outscored the Wildcats by 10 points at the free throw line, converting 15-of-22 attempts to Davidson's 5-of-10.

Hodges accounted for 24 of the Paladins' 45 rebounds.

Furman plays at Winthrop on Monday evening in a 7:00 p.m. game.

Hunter Reid, Furman Sports Information