JOHNSON CITY, TENN. -- Shamauria Bridges scored 19 points and Tianna Tarter tallied 18, including a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining, to help East Tennessee hold off Furman, 68-64, in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Brooks Gym.

The win earned East Tennessee State (14-10, 6-3 SoCon) the season split with Furman (11-13, 4-5 SoCon), which suffered its fourth consecutive loss.  The Paladins return home for their next three games beginning next Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. game against Wofford.

Trailing 66-62, Furman used a Cierra Carter driving basket with 27 second remaining to make it 66-64.  Carter then forced a turnover on ETSU's ensuing possession, but Holli Wilkins couldn't convert a go-ahead 3-point attempt from the corner.  A foul on the rebound sent the Bucs to the free throw line, where Sadasia Tipps missed both attempts, giving the Paladins another try, but Carter's long shot from the top of the circle bounced off the rim to Tarter, who was fouled with seven seconds remaining.  She proceeded to drain both free throws for the final four-point margin.

Wilkins led all scorers with 20 points and in the process climbed to seventh on Furman's career scoring chart with 1,420 points, surpassing former teammate Brittany Hodges (1,418 points, 2012-15).

Whitney Bunn finished with 19 points.

Bridges and Tarter combined to score 30 of their 37 points in the second half to spark the Bucs, who used 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range in the second half to secure the victory.

With the score tied 37-37, Tarter buried a 3-pointer and drew the foul with 4:02 left in the third quarter to put ETSU ahead 41-37 following the free throw.  Bridges followed with a basket to stretch the advantage to 43-37, helping the Bucs finish the quarter on a 16-7 spurt for a 53-44 lead.

Bridges opened the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer to give ETSU its biggest lead of the contest, 56-44, before Furman rallied with a 7-0 run, capped by two Whitney Bunn free throws with 7:51 remaining, to make it 56-51.

Following an ETSU basket, the Paladins scored six consecutive points, including a Kelsey Ellis 3-pointer at the 6:24 mark, to pull within a point at 58-57.  After a turnover denied Furman a chance to take the lead on its next possession, the Bucs answered with two buckets by Tarter and a Malloree Schurr free throw to go up, 63-57.

Shomari Kendrick notched 10 points and a game high 11 rebounds for ETSU, which posted a  37-34 rebounding advntage.  The Bucs shot 41.8 percent from the field (23-of-55) to the Paladins' 37.5 percent (21-of-56), and Furman again struggled from 3-point range, connecting on just 5-of-23 attempts, including just 1-for-12 over the final two quarters.

Starting freshman center Kaitlyn Duncan enjoyed her most productive outing in the new year, scoring eight points and claiming seven rebounds in 22 minutes of action.