GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Coming off one of the most impressive comeback wins in recent program history, Furman's women's basketball team will look to extend its early league momentum on Saturday when it welcomes Western Carolina to Timmons Arena for a 2:00 p.m. clash.

The game will highlight Alumni Weekend for Furman's women's basketball program and include halftime recognition of many former players.  It will also tip off a Saturday doubleheader that includes the Paladin men's 5:00 p.m. battle against Wofford.

Furman (10-8, 2-1 SoCon) opened its league home season in dramatic fashion on Thursday, defeating reigning SoCon champion UNC Greensboro, 69-56, by erasing a 10-point halftime deficit.  Career high scoring performances by sophomore guards Chantelle Stuart (26 points) and Alyssa Ervin (24 points) fueled the Paladins' second half surge that ended the Spartans' seven-game winning streak and seven-game series run against Furman.

Despite their record, Western Carolina (3-14, 0-3 SoCon) will be a tall order for Furman.  The Catamounts led Wofford after three quarters in Spartanburg on Thursday before falling, 71-65, to the Terriers.  The Paladins, who split last year's two meetings, have won 13 straight at home against Western Carolina to improve to 33-11 all-time in Greenville.  Overall Furman owns a 55-36 lead in the series.

Head coach Pierre Curtis engineered one of the most impressive efforts of his young career against UNCG.  Forced before the opening tip to contend without injured starting forward Kyraha Parnell and her replacement, Channing Warren, who exited the game in the second quarter due to injury, Curtis reconfigured his lineup at halftime, and the result proved dramatic as the Paladins used a 17-0 third quarter run to erase a 35-25 deficit en route to the win.

Among many keys to the victory was 9-of-20 shooting from 3-point range, and the three principals in that effort included Ervin (4x6), Lauren Bailey (3x5), and Stuart (2x5). Though she only contributed seven points in the win, Clare Coyle, who played all 40 minutes, defeated a lot of UNCG attention with a team leading five assists to go along a monster 15-rebound performance that improved her SoCon leading glasswork (8.2 rpg).  She also leads the league in field goal percentage (54.8), ranks fourth in scoring (14.9 ppg), and second in steals (40).

Ervin (12.9 ppg) has proven golden in her first season with the Paladins after spending her freshman campaign at Elon.  Her 24 points against UNCG book ended the first full week of league play that featured her game winning basket with 20 seconds remaining in a 72-70 triumph over East Tennessee State last Thursday.

In addition to Saturday's ESPN+ live stream, fans can also follow the action via StatBroadcast live stats and receive timely updates and highlight clips thru @FurmanWBB's "X" account.  Links to the livestream and stats are available on Furman's women's basketball schedule page at FurmanPaladins.com.