ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Amoria Neal-Tysor poured in 34 points and Mercer rode a blistering first half offensive performance on the way to an 81-71 victory over Furman in Women's Southern Conference Basketball Tournament semifinal action Friday afternoon at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville.

Neal-Tysor's 23-point first half points keyed Mercer (17-7), the tournament's No. 2 seed, to a  50-32 halftime advantage, which proved to be too steep a hill for No. 6 seed Furman (11-14) to overcome.    The Paladins clawed back to make it a 72-66 game following a free throw by Evie DePetro with just under minute remaining, but Jaron Dougherty blunted the comeback attempt with a pair of free throws, part of her nine-point fourth period, to help Mercer secure the victory.

Furman got a season high 24 points from senior forward Celena Taborn, 15 points from freshman guard Tate Walter, and a 10-point, 11-rebound effort out of senior forward Tierra Hodges.

Taborn's outing, which featured 11-of-13 shooting from the field, ensured the 6-foot-3 forward would finish her Paladin tenure as the program's all-time field goal percentage leader (.632), 15th on Furman's career scoring ledger (1,234 points), and sixth in blocks (119).

The 5-foot-9 Hodges, a two-time All-SoCon performer, wrapped her career with her SoCon leading 15th double-double of the season, as well as ranking 21st all-time in scoring (1,122 points) and fifth in rebounds (914).

Mercer connected on 11-of-17 shots over the game's first 10 minutes to grab a 25-16 lead, and backed that up with a 10-of-16 shooting effort in the second quarter, highlighted by a 14-point quarter from Neal-Tysor, who found the mark on 9-of-10 first half shots to help the Bears take an 18-point lead into halftime.

Furman outshot Mercer in the game, converting 54.0 percent from the field (27x50), but the Paladins were hampered by 23 turnovers, which led directly to Mercer racking up 19 more shots (33x69) while fashioning a 20-8 advantage in points off the miscues.

Dougherty added 17 points, Shannon Titus 15, and Jada Lewis rounded out the Mercer's double figure scoring attack with 11 points.