CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Sydney Ryan scored a game high 19 points to lead a parade of five double figure scorers that powered Furman to a 84-69 road victory over Western Carolina in Southern Conference women's basketball season opening action for both teams Thursday evening at the Ramsey Center.

The win, the fourth straight for Furman (11-6, 1-0 SoCon) and 11th consecutive triumph over Western Carolina (5-11, 0-1 SoCon), was the first career league triumph for first-year head coach Pierre Curtis, whose squad's 11th victory of the season tied last year's win total.

Ryan, a sophomore forward, came off the bench to connect on 6-of-8 shots, including 3-of-5 3-pointers, and all four free throw opportunities in 25 minutes of action.  She was followed in the scoring column by Sydney James and Niveya Henley with 14 points apiece, and Kate Johnson with 13 points.  Jada Session, who played just seven minutes in the first half, scored nine of her 11 points in the second half and also finished with a game high 10 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the season.

The Paladins, who led  59-54 an halftime, saw Western Carolina trim the lead to 63-60 on a Tyja Beans layup three minutes into the fourth quarter before answering with three consecutive layups — the first by Johnson and then a pair by Session, with the last one off her own steal that put Furman up 69-60 with 5:22 to go.

The Catamounts got within 69-65 before James stroked a 17-foot jump shot and later delivered a pass to the corner, where Henley drilled a 3-pointer to put Furman up 74-67 at the 2:37 mark.  James finished off her trifecta of key plays down the stretch and effectively put the game in the win column for Furman when she bottomed out another 17-foot jump shot to extend the Paladins' lead to 76-67 with 1:55 remaining.

The senior forward from Ocala, Fla., scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half.

Furman shot 41.3 percent from the field, making good on 26-of-63 attempts, and Western Carolina converted in similar fashion, making 25-of-60 shots (41.7%).  A big difference in the contest came at the free throw line, where Furman knocked down a season high 26-of-30 chances (86.7%) compared to Western Carolina's 13-of-18.

The Paladins, who entered the game ranked 12th in the nation in rebounding margin (+12.7), had a two-carom edge at halftime before taking over in the second half to finish with a 44-32 advantage.  Kate Johnson trailed Session with a nine rebounds.

Furman's seven turnovers marked a season low.

Mya Love led Western Carolina with 12 points.

The Paladins play at UNC Greensboro on Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. contest.