ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Stephania Orams converted a layup with two seconds remaining to lift Furman past UNC Asheville, 65-64, in Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament first round action Thursday evening at Kimmel Arena.

The victory advances Furman (18-13) into the tournament quarterfinals where it will face South Alabama on Monday in a 7:00 p.m. CT (8:00 ET) contest at South Alabama's Mitchell Center.  The Jaguars defeated Stetson, 49-33, in Thursday first round action.

The victory over UNC Asheville (17-16) marked Furman's first post-season tournament victory in program history.

Oramas gave Furman its final two leads, draining a layup with 1:15 to go to put the Paladins up 63-62, and the game winning layup with two seconds left on the clock.  Her game winner came after UNC Asheville's Bronaza Fitzgerald put the Bulldogs up, 64-63, with a layup with 58 seconds remaining.  After a Furman turnover, UNCA missed a 3-pointer and Furman's Cierra Carter collected the rebound with 11 seconds to go, setting up Oramas' decisive basket.

Le'Jzae Davidson, who poured in a career high 31 points in the Paladins' 71-63 win in Kimmel Arena in late December, tormented the Bulldogs again, leading all scorers with 28 points.  The 5-foot-5 All-Southern Conference guard registered a blistering second quarter, scoring 18 of the Paladins' 24 points to help Furman roar back from an 18-16 first quarter deficit to take a 40-31 into halftime.

An Oramas free throw midway through the third quarter gave Furman its biggest lead of the contest at 45-33, and the Paladins went up 55-45 on a Celena Taborn layup in the closing seconds of the third period before Jessica Wall closed the period with a 3-pointer as time expired to pull the Bulldogs to within 55-48.

The Bulldogs continued their comeback in the fourth quarter, pulling to within 59-57 on a Ftizgerald free throw before Wall gave UNCA its first lead of the second half, 60-59, with another 3-pointer at the 3:52 mark — the first of six lead changes the rest of the way.

Davidson's 28 points featured 10-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-10 work from 3-point range.  She was joined in double figures by DeAnneisha Jackson with 10 points and eight rebounds.  The Paladins shot 52.8 percent from the field (28x53).

Wall finished the game with 27 points, highlighted by 9-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. Fitzgerald had 16 points and a game high 14 rebounds.  UNC shot 44.9 percent from the field and drained 10-of-16 treys.

Hunter Reid, Furman Sports Information