Greenville, S.C. – Celena Taborn and Lindsey Taylor each scored a team-high 15 points on Saturday afternoon as the Furman women's basketball team defeated the Converse Valkyries, 79-55, in exhibition action at Timmons Arena.

Taborn and Taylor were two of three Paladins who scored in double-figures as Grace van Rij came off the bench to record 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting. Taylor finished the game shooting 6-of-7 from the field while Taborn was 5-of-8 and connected on all five of her free throw attempts. Tierra Hodges contributed nine points, eight rebounds (game-high) and four assists. Milica Manojlovic led all players with a game-high seven assists.

Ellen Nardella led Converse with 18 points and three steals on 6-of-11 shooting. Alexis McMillian and Dominique Hill both dished out a team-best three assists.

Furman concluded the game shooting 46.2 percent (30-of-65) from the field and held the advantage in points in the paint (42-26), points off turnovers (18-14), second chance points (20-8) and bench points (39-17).

The Paladins opened the game by scoring the first five points before the Valkryies used an 8-2 run to lead 8-7 with 7:37 remaining. Furman took the lead back for good 20 seconds later as a pair of free throws by Taborn made the score 11-10. The Paladins defense stepped up to hold Converse without a basket for almost six minutes as they scored nine straight points. Taborn connected on two more free throws with 1:15 left to give Furman an 18-10 lead. Lindsey Rogers' layup with 31 seconds remaining cut the Paladins' lead to 18-12 to end the quarter.

Furman outscored the Valkyries 9-0 over the first 3:36 of the second quarter, including five points by Taborn, and led 27-12 at the 6:37 mark on a layup from Taylor Petty. Converse got as close as 10 points twice with the last coming at 29-19 with 4:39 to go off a layup by Shakori Jennings-Shuler. The Paladins responded by going on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes and held a 36-19 advantage with 1:53 remaining after Le'Jzae Davidson's 3-pointer. Taylor scored five of the team's final six points of the half and led 42-21 at halftime.

Furman led by at least 20 points for a majority of the third quarter beginning at 44-23 with 8:37 left following a layup from Taborn. Following a Valkyrie turnover, Davidson connected on a 3-pointer to give the Paladins their largest lead of the quarter at 47-23. Converse managed to cut its deficit down to 19 points twice with the last coming at 56-37 with 1:39 to go after a layup by Rogers. Furman got a free throw by van Rij and layup from Tyah Hunter to hold a 59-37 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter began with van Rij scoring eight of her 11 points within the opening 3:08. The Paladins started the quarter on a 12-4 run and took their largest lead of the game, 71-41, at the 6:52 mark on van Rij's jumper. Furman would be held scoreless for nearly two minutes before van Rij's layup extended its lead out to 73-46. The Valkyries followed with a 6-2 run, covering almost three minutes, and trailed 75-52 with 2:46 remaining. Taylor and Skylar Boshears recorded back-to-back field goals to put the Paladins back in front by 27 points, 79-52, at the 1:25 mark. Nardella's 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining put the final score at 79-55.

Furman opens its regular season on Wednesday, November 6 traveling to Clemson for a 7 p.m. contest against the Tigers.