2023-24 SoCon Tournament Bracket (PDF)

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Tate Walters scored 10 of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Furman stormed back from an 10-point deficit in the final period to beat East Tennessee State, 67-59, in the Southern Conference regular season finale for both teams Saturday evening at Timmons Arena.

The game marked the final contest in Timmons Arena, which will undergo a $40M renovation beginning in April before reopening in the fall of 2025.

The victory evened Furman's season record at 15-15 overall and 5-9 in SoCon play under first year head coach Pierre Curtis, the 15 victories marking a four-game improvement over last year's 11-19 campaign.  The Paladins' five league victories are two better than the three wins posted a year ago.

Furman takes the No. 7 seed into SoCon Tournament play next Thursday, when the Paladins will face No. 2 seed UNC Greensboro in a 1:15 p.m. first round matchup at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.

The Paladins' likelihood of finishing the regular season at .500 looked bleak after three quarters with ETSU holding a 46-38 lead, but the fourth period was a completely different story as Furman came off the mat to tally 29 points and swamp the Buccaneers.

Trailing 50-40 a little over a minute into the final quarter, Furman caught fire behind senior forward Sydney James, whose two free throws and a pair of 3-pointers accounted for eight points in an 11-1 Paladin run that tied the game at 51-51 on a James trey with 5:22 remaining.

After ETSU blunted the run with a pair of baskets to go up, 55-51, Walters answered with her first of two 3-pointers in the quarter to cut it to 55-54 with three minutes to go.

The Paladins then capitalized on a Buccaneer turnover to grab its first lead since the second quarter, when Sydney Ryan drilled a 3-pointer off an assist by Walters for a 57-54 advantage.

Kate Johnson's ;ayup off another Walters assist put the Paladins up, 59-56,and Walters finished the 10-1 flourish with her own layup to stretch the advantage to 61-56.

After Journee McDaniel's three-point play sliced the lead to 61-59 with 46 seconds remaining,Walters buried a step back 3-pointer from well beyond the top of circle as the shot clock expired to effectively secure the win.

Walters' big fourth quarter helped her finish the contest with 11 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists — the nine caroms matching a career high and eight dishes upping her career total to 232, good for ninth in Furman history.

Ryan led all scorers with 15 on the strength of 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, which highlighted 10-for-18 work (.556) by the Paladins from beyond the arc.

Johnson followed Ryan with 14 points, and Jada Session finished with 12 points.

James finished with eight points, all of which came in the decisive fourth quarter.

ETSU led 37-30 at halftime after converting 8-of-17 3-point attempts, but the Bucs' only went 1-for-11 from range over the game's final 20 minutes.

Nevaeh Brown paced ETSU with 13 points, and Courntey Moore finished with 12.

Furman registered a 44-32 edge in rebounding, including a 30-20 edge on the defensive glass.