GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Kendall Folley scored 15 points and teammate Sarah Thompson keyed a strong third quarter rally with solid 3-point shooting to give East Tennessee State a lead it would never relinquish on the way to a 64-56 win over Furman in Southern Conference women's basketball action Thursday evening at Timmons Arena.

The victory halted a three-game losing skid by ETSU (14-6, 1-3 SoCon) and seven game series losing streak to Furman (9-10, 1-3 SoCon).

The Paladins, who got a game high 20 points from Sydney James, took a 40-30 lead on a Jada Session jump shot three and a half minutes into the second half, but the Buccaneers responded with a decisive 16-0 run, spiked by Thompson 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, to gain control. 

A 3-pointer by Jiselle Thomas with 2:39 remaining in the third period gave ETSU a 46-30 lead before James' 16-foot jump shot on the ensuing possession halted the run.

Jaelyn Acker pulled Furman to within 46-44 on the Paladins' next trip down the floor, but that's as close as Furman could get as Folley continued the 3-point barrage with a trey for a 49-44 advantage with just over a minute remaining in the third period.

ETSU, which entered the game shooting just 27.3 percent from 3-point range on the season, finished the contest 8-of-18 ( 44.4%) from beyond the line.  Thompson, a sophomore guard and 24.5% 3-point shooter from distance over 15 games, made 4-of-9 treys to finish with 12 points. Folley converted 2-of-3 3-point attempts in her 15-point performance, which also featured six assists and two steals.

For the game the Buccaneers shot 42.1% from the field, connecting on 24-of-57 shots.

Furman shot 37.9 percent in the contest and just 5-of-24 from 3-point range.

The Paladins rallied from an 18-13 first quarter deficit to take a 32-28 lead into intermission after Sydney Ryan drained a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining in the first half.  

James opened the second half with a 3-pointer to extend the advantage to 35-28 — part of 8-2 run to begin the third period that gave the Paldins their 40-30 advantage.

James combined her 20 points with a game high 10 rebounds. Jada Session joined her with a double-double, combining 10 points with 10 caroms.

Furman plays host to Chattanooga on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.