Nashville, Tenn. – Lindsey Taylor scored a career-high 11 points on Friday evening as the Furman women's basketball team dropped a 74-46 decision on the road to the Vanderbilt Commodores at Memorial Gymnasium.
Furman falls to 3-2 on the season while Vanderbilt improves to 4-1 overall.
Taylor concluded the game matching her career-high of five made field goals and went 5-of-8 from the field.
Le'Jzae Davidson contributed eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
Celena Taborn and
Milica Manojlovic both pulled down five rebounds.
Brinae Alexander led all players with a game-high 17 points to lead the Commodores offensively and was joined in double figures by Mariella Fasoula (16) and Jordyn Cambridge (14). Fasoula and Cambrdge both had a game-high six rebounds. Chelsie Hall dished out four assists.
The opening six minutes of the game saw the score tied four times with the Paladins also holding the lead a total of four times. Taylor scored six of Furman's first eight points with her last, a layup, giving it an 8-6 lead with 4:55 remaining. Vanderbilt responded with an 8-0 run and went in front 14-8 at the 2:54 mark. The Paladins got as close as two points, 14-12, with 1:52 left after back-to-back layups by Taborn and
Tierra Hodges. The Commodores outscored Furman 4-1 over the final minute of play and led 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Vanderbilt began the second quarter with a 9-0 run and took a 27-13 lead with 7:52 remaining. The Commodores held a 14-point advantage two more times in the period with the last coming at 34-20 with 4:08 to go. The Paladins got as close as eight points, 34-26, at the 3:13 mark following a 3-point play by
Sutton West. Neither team scored for nearly three minutes until Vanderbilt connected on a jumper with 22 seconds left to lead 36-26 at halftime.
The Commodores built their lead out to 18 points less than three minutes into the third quarter when a jumper by Cambridge made the score 44-26. Taylor followed the next possession with a field goal. Davidson kept Furman's deficit at 16 points with 4:56 to go when her 3-pointer put the score at 48-32. Vanderbilt outscored the Paladins 13-2 over the final 4:55 and took a 61-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Commodores led by at least 20 points for the entirety of the final quarter. Vanderbilt took its largest lead of the game, 74-42, with 3:09 remaining. That would be the last basket the Commodores scored as the Furman defense held them scoreless for the game's final three minutes. The Paladins recorded the final four points on free throws from
Jarya Outten and
Maddie Griffon, and a layup by
Greyson Boone.
Furman finished the game shooting 35.6 percent (16-of-45) from the field and held a 25-19 advantage in bench points.
The Paladins continue their road trip on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Middle Tennessee for a 3 p.m. contest.