ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Le'Jzae Davidson scored a career high 31 points, including 24 in the second half, to power Furman past UNC Asheville, 71-63, in women's basketball action Thursday evening at Kimmel Arena.

The victory, which snapped the Paladins' five-game losing streak against the Bulldogs in Asheville, improved Furman to 9-4 on the season heading into Saturday's final non-conference game of the season at Presbyterian.  UNC Asheville fell to 3-8 with the loss.

Davidson, a 5-foot-4 guard, connected on 9-of-14 shots, including 4-for-8 3-pointers, and 9-of-11 free throws to best her previous career high of 23 points in a victory over UNCG last year in Greenville. 

The Nashville, Tenn., native scored 24 of Furman's 33 points in the second half and almost single-handedly kept UNCA in check down the stretch after the Bulldogs twice trimmed the Paladins' 15-point halftime advantage to three points in the final period.

Davidson's two free throws blunted the Bulldogs after UNCA pulled to within 55-52 on a Jessica Wall 3-pointer with 7:29 to go.  Her 3-pointer at the 4:16 mark followed a Stephania Oramas trey to give Furman a 63-54 lead, and she finished off her performance by draining six free throws down the stretch.

Cierra Carter tallied nine of her 17 points in a decisive second period that saw the Paladins outscore the Bulldogs 24-7, turning a 16-14 deficit into a 38-23 halftime advantage.

Oramas rounded out Furman's double figure scoring effort with 13 points.

Bronaza Fitzgerald led UNCA with 16 points.

Furman shot 46.8 percent from the field, finding the mark on 22-of-47 shots.  The Paladins connected on 7-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc and were 20-of-28 at the free throw line (71.4%).

Furman has drained 22-of-49 3-point attempts (44.9%) over the last three games.

Hunter Reid, Furman Sports Information