Cougars Fall Short in Comeback Attempt, 64-55 - CofCSports.com--Official Web site of College of Charleston Athletics

Tuesday, February 7

Greenville, SC

5pm

College of Charleston

Furman

Cougars Fall Short in Comeback Attempt, 64-55 - CofCSports.com--Official Web site of College of Charleston Athletics

2/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

#articleRelated { display: none !important; } The College of Charleston women's basketball team rallied back from a 12-point second-half deficit only to falter in overtime, falling to the Furman Paladins 64-55 in front of 483 fans at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C.

With the win Furman snaps a nine-game losing streak and improves to 8-15 overall and 4-9 in the Southern Conference. The Cougars fall to below .500 for the season at 10-11 overall and 7-6 in the league.

Charleston stormed out of the gate, building a 19-8 lead with 8:57 left in the first half. Furman responded, closing out the half with a 17-3 run that left the Paladins leading 25-22 at the intermission. Both teams were fairly even in shooting percentage, with the Cougars holding the slight 37.5 to 37.0 edge.

Furman opened the second half the same way it ended the first, taking an 11-2 run to build its lead t o12 with 10:25 left. The Cougars cut the margin to 10 with its first field goal of the second half, a jumper by Melissa Chambers with 10:18 to go. The Cougars went on an 18-8 run over the next seven minutes to tie the ballgame at 46-46 with 3:11 left. Charleston held the lead but could only increase it margin to three as the Cougars missed the front end of a one-and one free throw attempt with 25 seconds left. The Paladins got the rebound and took it down court where Tomi Paris nailed a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 51-51 with 7.4 second to go. Charleston took the ball down the court but Jade Hughes' last second basket was just short and the game went into overtime. After being held to two points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, Charleston ended the stanza shooting 42.3 percent, compared to just 34.8 for Furman.

In overtime, the Paladins connected on just one field goal but went 11-for-12 from the free throw line to take the eventual nine-point 64-55 win. Charleston was just two-for-eight in overtime.

For the game Charleston shot 37.9, while Furman shot 35.2. The Cougars were just six-for-12 from the firee throw line and pulled down 35 rebounds and turned the ball over 19 times. Furman was 21-for-26 from the free throw line and had 42 rebounds and 18 turnovers.

Hughes led the Cougars with 18 points, just five from her career-high of 23, while Erika Smith had 10 points to follow. Leading the Cougars in rebounds was Sarah Moye, Erica Irick and Chambers with six apiece. Furman was led by Chrissy Phelps with 14 points. Megan paced the team in rebounds with eight.

The Cougars return home to take on Elon Feb. 11th at 2:00 PM. Furman hosts Wofford the 11th at 5:00 PM.