College of Charleston
Furman
Cougars Outlast Paladins, 77-74
12/19/2009 11:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) scored a career-tying 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with 51 seconds remaining, to help the College of Charleston women's basketball team slip past Furman, 77-74, in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C..
Hughes converted 8-of-17 field goals, including 5-of-10 3-pointers, and a pair of free throws, but it was her driving layup with just under a minute to play that provided the College of Charleston (7-3, 3-0 SoCon) its winning points.
Furman (3-9, 1-3 SoCon) got a game high 27 points from Lee Stephens.
Trailing 74-73 after Furman's Raegan Thompson converted a pair of free throws with 1:12 remaining, Charleston worked the clock on the ensuing possession before Hughes drove down the lane past the Paladin defense for a layup to put the Cougars ahead 75-74 with 51 seconds left.
Both teams suffered turnovers on the next two possessions, leaving Furman with the ball with 21 seconds to go. Stephens had her driving layup attempt blocked, but Furman came up with the rebound. Following a timeout Furman's Kelly O'Connor missed a three-pointer from the left wing, and CofC's Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) secured the rebound. Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) was fouled with three seconds remaining and made the first of two free throws to give the Cougars a 76-74 lead. She missed her second attempt, but Jones claimed the carom and added another free throw for the final tally.
Hughes' performance, which included a game high eight assists, keyed a solid shooting effort by the Cougars, who canned 28-of-57 field goal attempts (49.1%), including 10-of-20 from 3-point range.
Furman also shot well, knocking down 48.0 percent (24-of-50) of its shots, including 8-of-18 treys. The Paladins made 18-of-21 free throws.
Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) followed Hughes in the scoring column with 19 points, and Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) had 13 points. Jones rounded out the Cougars' double figure scorers with 10 points to go along with a game high eight rebounds.
Lakyn Ledford scored 13 points for the Paladins, and Kendra Berry contributed 10 points.
Furman, which trailed 33-21, used a 12-5 run over the final four minutes of the first half to make it a 38-33 game at intermission.
Charleston returns home Monday, Dec. 21 to take on the Catamounts of Western Carolina in a 7:00 p.m. tip. It is a rematch from last year's Southern Conference Tournament Final. The Catamounts defeated the Cougars, 101-87, in triple overtime. It is also the "Habitat for Humanity Game." Any fan that brings in a children's book will receive free admission to the game. All books will be donated to Habitat for Humanity families.
For ticket information to this and all other home games please visit www.CofCSports.com or call the ticket office at 843.953.CofC (2632).
