Battle for Second Place, Davidson Falls 69-62 at Furman

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GREENVILLE, S.C. – In a battle for second place in the Southern Conference standings between Davidson and Furman, the Wildcats' rally fell just short as they dropped a 69-62 decision on the road Friday night in women's basketball at Timmons Arena.

The Wildcats (13-15, 10-7 SoCon) twice got to within four points in the final four minutes, but Furman held on by hitting nine free throws in the last 1:16 of the game.

Winning their fourth straight, the Paladins (17-11, 11-6 SoCon) halted Davidson's five-game win streak in the all-time series. They put four in double figures in the scoring column, led by Holli Wilkins' 16 points. Brittany Hodges added 14 points to go with a game-high 13 rebounds.

Allison Beasley and Whitney Bunn chipped in 13 and 11 points each.

The big three of Laura Murray (16), Hannah Early (16) and Dakota Dukes (13) paced the Wildcats by hitting the double-digit mark together in the same game for the 15th time this season.

Down 52-42 after Furman used a 9-2 run to get its biggest lead of the game, Davidson ran off an 11-5 run of its own capped off by a Lillian McCabe fastbreak bucket to get within four at 57-53 with 4:06 remaining.

Furman later pushed its lead to six at 1:27, before Early's driving layup made it 60-56. The Paladins kept hold of the lead though, going 9-for-12 at the line in the closing minute.

A four-point play from Early on a three-pointer and finished off with a free throw, made the score 67-62 with 13 ticks on the clock, before Furman hit two more free throws to seal the win.

The first half was a close battle to start as both teams played to a 23-23 tie with just over five minutes left to play. Davidson hit eight of its first 16 shots, while Furman was 9-for-16. The trio of Murray, Dukes and Early scored 21 of the Wildcat's 23 points.

The 'Cats though hit a cold stretch, allowing Furman to outscore them 12-7 to close the half for a 35-30 lead. The Paladins shot 52 percent for the half, while Davidson was just 36.4 percent.

Davidson was held to 33.8 percent shooting for the game and only 4-for-15 from behind the arc. The Wildcats came into the game second in the league in three-point percentage at .345.

Behind Early and Dukes eight rebounds each, Davidson had a 44-41 edge on the glass with a season-high 19 coming on the offensive end. The Wildcats also outscored Furman by ten in the paint, 34-24.

Davidson concludes the regular season with a trip to Spartanburg, S.C., to face Wofford Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Despite the setback, Davidson still has won 13 of the past 18 meetings in the series vs. Furman … The Wildcats fell to 43-14 since 2011-12 in SoCon games … Murray has scored in double digits in 27 of the 'Cats' 28 games this year, pushing her career total to 94.

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