CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Tierra Hodges scored a career high 28 points and Furman used a strong third quarter to take control en route to an 86-68 victory over host Charleston Southern in women's basketball action Thursday at the CSU Fieldhouse.

The win halted a four-game losing skid for Furman (6-6), while Charleston Southern (0-8) remained winless on the season.

Hodges, a senior forward, connected on 11-of-22 shots and 6-of-7 free throws for her 28 points, which she combined with a game high 12 rebounds to notch her sixth double-double of the season.  The Covington, Ga., product's 12 caroms moved her into third place on Furman's career rebounding ledger with 1,034, surpassing former great Rushia Brown (1,023, 1990-94).

Tate Walters followed Hodges in the scoring column with 15 points, including 11 in a big third quarter that saw the Paladins outscore the Buccaneers 30-12.

Leading 42-40 at intermission, Furman used a Walters 3-pointer and layup by Paraskevi Koila to extend the lead to 47-40.

Furman led 57-52 with just under four minutes to go in the period when Walters drained her second trey of the game to ignite a 15-0 run that sent the Paladins into the fourth quarter up, 72-52.

The Paladins opened the fourth period with a pair of Hodges baskets to extend the run to 19-0 for a 76-52 lead before Charleston Southern halted the more than seven-minute scoring drought.

Grace van Rij joined Hodges and Walters in double figures with 14 points, and Sydney James contributed all eight of her points in the decisive third quarter.

Furman, which entered the game as the nation's top offensive rebound program, dominated Charleston Southern on the glass, 47-24, including 22-2 on the offensive boards.

Tori Gittens paced CSU with 18 points.

The Buccaneers, who entered the contest shooting just a shade of 20 percent from 3-point range, kept it a tight game over the first 20 minutes by hitting 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.

Furman shot 43.8 percent from the field (32x73) and used its dominance on the offensive boards to attempt 22 more shots than CSU (24x51).  The Paladins registered 17-4 advantage in second chance points and outscored the Buccaneers 44-20 in the paint.

Hodges' 28 points topped her previous career high 25-point performance registered against California in November.

Furman continues its season long five-game road swing with a Dec. 20 clash at Hampton.