GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Tierra Hodges poured in 27 points and combined it with 11 rebounds to power Furman past East Tennessee State, 68-54, in Southern Conference women's basketball action on Thursday evening at Timmons Arena.

Hodges, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week who last Saturday became Furman's all-time leading rebounder in a road contest at Samford, used her 27 points, one shy of her career high, to crack the Paladins' Top 10 scoring ledger, surpassing Brittany Hodges (no relation) into 10th place with 1,439 points.

The junior from Covington, Ga., connected on 11-of-18 shots, including a 3-pointer, to lead the way for Furman (10-9, 3-2 SoCon), which notched its sixth consecutive win over ETSU (2-16, 1-4 SoCon).

Grace van Rij joined Hodges in double figures, tallying 18 points, also a point off a career high.

ETSU got 15 points from Demi Burdick.

Furman, which led 40-36 early in the third quarter, used a Janay Outten driving layup and its first 3-pointer of the game, from Tate Walters, to stretch their advantage to 45-36 midway through the period.

Later in the quarter Hodges ignited a 9-0 run with a 16-foot jump shot, which Walters followed with another 3-pointer to help give the Paladins a 54-38 lead.

ETSU could never get within single digits the rest of the way.

The Paladins shot 44.4 percent from the field (28x63), while the Buccaneers converted 37.9 percent of their field goal attempts (22x58).

Furman claimed a 45-30 rebounding advantage, with Hodges' 11 boards marking her SoCon leading 12th double-double of the season.

Furman plays host to Chattanooga on Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. contest that will highlight National Girls and Women In Sports Day and feature a pre-game autograph session for Furman female student-athletes representing the university's 10 women's sports.  The first 150 fans to enter will receive a "The FUture Is Female" shirt, with adult and kids sizes available.  Any grade-school age child, male or female, wearing a Furman, professional, school, youth league jersey, or Furman camp shirt of any sport,  will be admitted free. Parents can get a $2 ticket by accessing the this link. Tickets will be $5 at the door.