GREENVILLE, S.C.. -- It's Furman versus Chattanooga in Thursday's opening round of the women's Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Tournament at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.  Tipoff is set for 5:45 p.m.

Furman (17-11, 10-4 SoCon) takes the No. 3 seed into tournament play, while Chattanooga (7-22, 5-9 SoCon) is the No. 6 seed.  The winner will advance into Friday's 1:15 p.m. semifinal round game to face the winner of the Wofford vs. East Tennessee State matchup.  The tournament championship is scheduled for noon Sunday.

All tournament games will be live streamed via ESPN+, with the championship also slated to be carried on the Nexstar Network.  Live stats will be available thru FurmanPaladins.com.

For will call ticket information at Harrah's Cherokee Center and game day send-off details from Furman's team hotel, please see the bottom of this release.

Furman heads into tournament play behind fifth-year senior forward Tierra Hodges, who on Tuesday was named consensus SoCon Player of the Year.  She'll be flanked by a pair of second team all-conference selections, sophomore guard Tate Walters and senior forward Grace van Rij, as well as SoCon All-Freshman Team guard Niveya Henley.

Furman swept Chattanooga during the regular season, posting a 63-50 verdict in Greenville on Jan. 29 and a 64-43 win in Chattanooga last Thursday.  The Paladins have won the last four meetings with the Mocs, including a 58-40 win last year in SoCon Tournament quarterfinal round action.

Hodges fashioned a brilliant 2021-22 regular season, pacing the SoCon in scoring (18.0 ppg), rebounding (11.9 rpg), and free throw shooting (.832).  She currently ranks seventh nationally in rebounding, is Furman's all-time leader in caroms (1,232), and also stands sixth on Furman's career scoring chart (1,607 points).

The 5-foot-9 Paladin earned league player of the week honors four times during the campaign and claimed SoCon Player of the Month citations for November, December, and January.

Hodges' headline play this year, which featured a league leading 18 double-doubles (points-rebounds), helped Furman go 11-4 over its final 15 games en route to a 17-11 regular season and 10-4 SoCon mark, good for a third place league finish.  The Paladins' 10 conference wins are their most since the 2013-14 season.

Walters fashioned a solid season, averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while posting a league leading 105 assists.  The 5-foot-9 native of Buford, Ga., led Furman in 3-point shooting (.375) this season.

van Rij was particularly strong down the stretch for Furman, averaging 11.4 points over the last 16 games, including 66 points in the Paladins' last four contests.  The 6-foot-2 Knoxville, Tenn., product tallied a career high 26 points versus regular season champion Mercer on Feb. 19.  She ranks second in the SoCon in field goal percentage (.507).

Henley averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in her inaugural season as a Paladin.  A 6-foot product of Seattle, Wash., she earned starts in nine of Furman's final 10 games connected on 11-of-22 3-pointers (.500) over the final eight contests.

Thursday, March 3
Tickets Available/Furman Will Call Table
Location: Main Entrance Harrah's Cherokee Center Arena
Time: 10:00 AM
 
Women's Team Hotel Send Off Gathering
Location: DoubleTree Asheville Biltmore, 115 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, N.C.
Time: 3:00 PM 
 
Women's SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals
No. 3 Furman vs. No. 6 Chattanooga
Location: Harrah's Cherokee Center Arena, Asheville, N.C.
Time: 5:45 PM