CLINTON, S.C. --
Grace van Rij scored 19 points and claimed 12 rebounds, and Furman rallied from a 16-point second half deficit to defeat Presbyterian, 67-60, in women's basketball action Friday evening at the Templeton Center.
The Paladins (2-0) trailed 52-36 with just over two minutes remaining in the third period before mounting their impressive rally, closing the third frame with a 9-0 run sparked by a
Jaelyn Acker 3-pointer, a layup by
Sydney Ryan off an offensive rebound, and two layups following offensive caroms by van Rij that made it a 52-45 game.
The rally continued in the fourth quarter as
Evie DePetro and van Rij opened the frame with baskets to extend the run to 13-0, cutting PC's advantage to 52-49.
A 5-0 spurt by the Blue Hose temporarily blunted the Furman comeback, but the Paladins resumed their rally with an 8-0 run, aided by four free throws by Ryan, her final one in the stretch putting Furman ahead for good, 58-57, at the 3:29 mark.
Acker bottomed out a jump shot in the lane to extend Furman's lead to 60-57.
Following a PC free throw, Ryan drained two more free throws to give Furman a four-point lead with 1:27 remaining.
Acker, a redshirt freshman guard, followed van Rij in the scoring column with 16 points, delivering 10 in the first quarter to give the Paladins a 22-15 lead.
Ryan, who scored 25 points in her Paladin debut in an 84-27 romp of Erskine on Wednesday, finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Paladins overcame just 1-of-20 shooting in three-point second period to outscore the Blue Hose 42-27 over the game's final 20 minutes, including a 22-8 margin in the decisive fourth period.
Playing a significant role in the comeback was Furman's 48-29 rebounding advantage, including a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 15-6 scoring differential on second chance points.
Furman also forged a 16-point differential at the charity stripe, converting 19-of-29 attempts to PC's 3-of-4.
Bryanna Brady paced Presbyterian with 19 points, and Aubie Kierscht contributed 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.
Furman returns to action on Tuesday when it plays host to Gardner-Webb in a 7:00 p.m. contest.
