BOONE, N.C. -- Joi Jones scored 21 points and Appalachian State used a decisive third quarter to erase an eight-point halftime deficit en route to a 92-78 victory over Furman in women's basketball action Sunday afternoon at the Holmes Center.

Furman (6-6) took a 45-37 lead into intermission following a De'Asia Brown 3-pointer as the first half expired, but Appalachian State (3-6) wasted no time in erasing the Paladins' advantage, using a 14-0 run to start the third quarter to go up 51-45 following a free throw by Kaila Craven midway through the period.

The Paladins' first tally of the second half came 20 seconds later on a pair of Kaitlyn Duncan free throws that cut it to 51-47, but Furman failed to recover from the poor start.  The Paladins twice cut the deficit to three points before Madi Story's jump shot with four seconds remaining finished off the period that saw Appalachian State outscore Furman, 27-13, for a 64-58 lead.

A Duncan free throw at the 6:34 juncture of the fourth quarter got Furman to within three points at 71-68, but a 6-0 spurt over the next two minutes, capped by a pair of Craven free throws, pushed the Mountaineers' advantage to 77-68, effectively sealing the outcome.

The Mountaineers feasted offensively, scoring their most points of the season by virtue of 53.8 percent shooting effort (34-for-65), nearly all of which came inside the arc as the Apps made only 1-of-7 3-point attempts.  Appalachian State also clubbed Furman on the boards, posting a 45-27 advantage that contributed to a 14-2 edge on second chance points.

Madi Story followed Jones with 20 points and three players — Keke Cooper, Mia Marshall, and Ashley Bassett-Smith — tallied 12 points apiece to round out the five double figure scoring performances by the Mountaineers.

Furman placed four players in double figures, led by Holli Wilkins' 16 points.  Cierra Carter finished with 15 points  while Tiara Wood and Kaitlyn Duncan both registered new career highs with 13 points each.

The Paladins shot 53.3 percent from the field in the first half, hitting on 8-of-14 attempts from 3-point range over the first 20 minutes, but cooled off considerably in the second half, connecting on 9-of-32 shots (28.1 percent) to finish at 40.3 percent for the game.

Both teams blistered the nets in the first period for a 24-24 tie after the game's first 10 minutes, and Furman appeared to be in good shape after closing the first half with a 10-3 run to take a 45-37 lead into intermission on Brown's 3-pointer.

The Paladins wrap up their season long, five-game road stretch on Dec. 30 at Virginia Tech.