TIGERVILLE, S.C. -- Tate Walters poured in a career high 30 points and keyed a quick start that Furman used to gain control en route to an 82-73 victory over Western Carolina in Southern Conference women's basketball action on Thursday evening at Hayes Gymnasium on the campus of North Greenville University.

Walters, a graduate guard, connected on 10-of-17 shots, including 4-of-8 3-pointers, and six free throws over 35 minutes of court time to lead the Paladins (11-7, 1-1 SoCon) to their 15th consecutive victory over the Catamounts (11-7, 1-2 SoCon).

The Buford, Ga., product complemented her career high scoring effort with eight assists, eight rebounds, and three steals.  The eight dishes pushed her career tally to 406 and into third place on Furman's career ledger.  Her previous career scoring high had been 26 versus Chattanooga in 2022 SoCon Tournament action, and the 30-point performance was the first by a Paladin since Le'Jzae Davidson scored 35 in a 77-70 win over Fairfield in the 2018-19 season.

Sydney Ryan followed with a double-double, tallying 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and freshman Raina McGowens registered a season high 13 points for Furman, which never trailed in the contest.

Walters delivered from the start, scoring seven of Furman's first 11 points and assisting on the other two baskets in helping the Paladins grab an 11-2 lead three minutes into the contest.  Ryan followed with her first of four 3-pointers to extend Furman's advantage to 14-2 on the way to an 18-6 lead after one period.

Ahead 33-21 at intermission, Furman opened the second half in similar fashion as it did the first as Walters and Ryan connected on corner 3-pointers in the first minute to stretch the lead to 39-21.  The Paladins twice led by as many as 23 points in the frame, with Ryan contributing 13 of her 22 points in the quarter on the strength of perfect 4-for-4 shooting that featured three 3-pointers.

Western Carolina's Jada Burton pulled the Catamounts to within 66-57 on a layup with 5:54 to go, but Furman answered behind Walters, whose 3-pointer from the top of circle on the ensuing possession helped bunt the rally.

Furman's quick start was aided by Western Carolina's shooting struggles as the Catamounts hit on just 3-of-15 shots in the first quarter and misfired on their first 13 attempts from 3-point range before Chelsea Wooten converted a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first half.  Wooten led Western in scoring with 20 points, followed by Jada Burton with 17.

Both teams shot slightly better than 42 percent from the field, but Furman's 9-of-25 worksheet (.360) from beyond the arc, including 5-of-6 connections in a 31-point third period, proved to be large.

The Paladins play host to UNC Greensboron on Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. contest at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville.