Orangeburg, SC—The SC State women's basketball team held off a late game surge by Furman to pick up the 59-54 win in a non-conference match-up in the Smith-Hammond-Middleton (S-H-M) Memorial Center.
SC State (2-1) opened the game with a 9-0 run and would go up by as many as 11 in the first five minutes of the game. Furman (0-4) managed to pull within five, (21-16), with just under eight minutes remaining. The Lady Bulldogs increased its lead by 10, (26-16), with six minutes remaining before Furman went put together its offense. The Paladin pulled within three, (26-23), with just over one minute remaining; but a layup by the Lady Bulldogs Lauren Johnson with 14 seconds remaining in the half gave SC State a five point lead, (30-25), which was the margin they enjoyed at intermission.
The teams exchanged baskets for the first five-plus minutes of the second half. Furman then went on a 12-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to take its first lead of the game, (40-41), with just over nine minutes remaining. There would be two more lead changes over the course of five minutes before the teams found themselves knotted up at 48 with four minutes remaining. SC State controlled the remaining four minutes as they went on a 6-0 run and would eventually go on to win by five, 59-54.
Senior Sophilia Hipps was the only Lady Bulldog to score in double-figures as she dropped in a game-high 23 points. Junior transfer Joi Walker contributed nine points and eight rebounds and freshman Shonketta Christian pulled in a game-high 13 rebounds in the victory.
The Paladin was paced by Susan Troutman who recorded a double-double, 10 points-12 rebounds in the loss.
The Lady Bulldogs will play its fourth straight home game, Tuesday, Nov. 24, when they host the Spartans of USC-Upstate. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in S-H-M. Admission to the game is free and open to the public.
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