GREENVILLE, S.C. — Furman's women's basketball team will take on Mercer in Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinal round action at 5:45 p.m. Thursday at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.
Furman (17-12, 9-5 SoCon) heads into tournament play as the No. 4 seed while Mercer (17-12, 7-7 SoCon) carries the No. 5 seed into Thursday's contest, which will be streamed via ESPN+. The winner will advance into Friday's semifinal round to face the winner of the Chattanooga-Western Carolina game in an 11:00 a.m. clash.
The Paladins and Bears split the season series, with Furman winning 60-49 in Macon, Ga., on Jan. 22, and Mercer claiming an 80-63 verdict in Greenville on Feb. 21.
Mercer owns a 4-0 league tournament record against Furman, including championship game wins over the Paladins in 2018 and 2022. Furman, which is making its 43
rd SoCon Tournament appearance this year, captured tournament championships in 1995 and 2000.
A fifth place pick in the SoCon coaches' preseason poll, sporting no returning starters from a year ago, and lacking a senior in uniform this year, third-year head coach
Pierre Curtis' squad fashioned a fourth place finish, improving its league win tally by four games this year. Included in the campaign was a series sweep of Wofford, completed with a 64-42 verdict administered last Saturday in Timmons Arena.
A big part of the Paladins' success this year was a 6-1 road conference record — the best SoCon road mark in program history (1984-present) and the play of sophomores
Clare Coyle and
Alyssa Ervin, who were named All-SoCon first and second teams, respectively, on Tuesday. In addition, Coyle was named to the SoCon All-Defensive Team.
Coyle, a forward from Jacksonville, Fla., led the SoCon in rebounding (9.3), field goal percentage (.541), and double-doubles (11), and ranked fourth in scoring (14.8), third in steals (2.1), and fourth in blocked shots (1.41) — the only player to rank in the top four in all six categories.
Ervin ranked sixth in the league in scoring (13.3), seventh in free throw percentage (.718), and eighth in steals (1.55) in her first season as a Paladin. The Galax, Va., product tallied a career high 24 points in a 69-56 home triumph over UNC Greensboro and connected on game winning shots in three road league games this year — vs. East Tennessee State (72-70 in Johnson City), vs. Wofford (65-64 in Spartanburg), and vs. UNC Greensboro (63-61 in Greensboro).
Furman heads into tournament action with a thin bench. Three weeks ago the Paladins suffered a notable loss in
the opening minute of Feb. 14 game at UNCG when starting junior guard Lauren
Bailey, the squad's top 3-point shooter this year (.373), sustained a season ending knee injury. Bailey's exit moved two freshmen,
Sophia Pearl and
Brooklyn King, into more prominent roles, with Pearl averaging 32 minutes per game over the last four contests that saw her tally a season high 15 points versus (3x7 3PFGs) vs. Samford and 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in last Saturday's win over Wofford. King, meanwhile, has started the last two games and is averaging 26 minutes of action in her last three outings.
Links to the ESPN+ live stream and StatBroadcast live stats will be available on Furman's women's basketball schedule page. In addition, game highlight clips and other notes will be presented on the team's X social media platform @FurmanWBB
