CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Yazz Wazeerud-Din scored a game high 23 points and Chattanooga held off a late Furman rally to earn a 70-63 win in Southern Conference women's basketball action Thursday evening at McKenzie Arena.

The victory, coupled with a Wofford loss to East Tennessee State on Thursday, moved Chattanooga (16-10, 8-3 SoCon) into sole possession of first place in the league.  Furman (10-16, 2-9 SoCon) fell for the seventh time in its last eight outings,

The Paladins were paced in the scoring column by the freshman tandem of Ella Riggs and Sydney Ryan, who tallied 15 points apiece, and Grace van Rij, who finished with 13.  

Riggs' performance over 21 minutes of playing time featured 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.  Ryan, meanwhile, was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.  The Nashville, Tenn., guard tacked on four free throws in six attempts in 23 minutes of action.

Furman shot 43.8 percent from the field, connecting on 21-of-48 attempts, but Chattanooga was better, converting 27-of-54 attempts, primarily inside where the Mocs outscored the Paladins 42-16 in the paint.'

Wazeerud-Din dialed in 7-of-15 shots, including 3-of-7 treys, and also got to the free throw line eight times, where she knocked down attempts.

Chattanooga, which led the entire way owned a 57-41 lead after three quarters before Furman rallied late.  A Riggs 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go cut UTC's lead to 69-60, and the Paladins got within 69-63 with another Riggs trey with six seconds remaining before Chattanooga put the game away with a pair of free throws.

Raven Thompson chipped in 17 points, and Abbey Cornelius tallied 11 points to round out the trio of double figure scorers for UTC.

Furman plays at ETSU on Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. contest.