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| In her final college game, Tate Walters had 19 points in Furman's 63-55 loss to Chattanooga. Photo courtesy of the SoCon/Jeremy Fleming |
During Furman's first round win over East Tennessee State Thursday at the Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, the Paladins made 5-of-15 three-pointers. That may not sound like a lot in 2025, but it worked for Furman coach Pierre Curtis.
"If we hit 10 threes, great, but we just need five," Curtis said Thursday. "If we can make five threes, I feel great about our offense and then our defense can do the rest."
Unfortunately for the sixth-seeded Paladins, they proved just how right Curtis was in Friday's semifinals. Furman made just 2-of-19 threes and ended up losing by eight to second-seeded Chattanooga. The Mocs' 63-55 win at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville advances them to Sunday's championship against top-seeded UNC Greensboro.
For the game, the Paladins (16-16) shot just 37.7 percent from the floor. After improving to 10-1 in games in which it shot at least 45 percent this season on Thursday, they fell to 1-13 in games in which they shot less than 41 percent on Friday.
"Obviously, it's not the outcome we expected. It was just a play here or there where the game kind of got away from us. Then we fought back, and we got right back into it," Curtis said Friday. "But just for that one minute or two, we kind of as a group - the whole group, myself included - we lost composure for a little bit and they took advantage of it. ... Hats off to Chattanooga for toughing it out and winning a tough game."
Furman standout Tate Walters began her final game with a jumper on the opening possession. UTC standout Caia Elisaldez answered with a jumper 31 seconds later and the Paladins never led again.
Despite being ice cold from the perimeter, Furman was able to hang around thanks to its defense. The Paladins were never behind by more than seven over the first three quarters as they trailed 16-13 after one, 27-24 at the half and 39-33 going to the fourth.
Ironically, Furman made its first three-point attempt when Sydney Ryan tied the game 5-5 less than two minutes in. The Paladins didn't pull even again until the 6:18 mark of the third quarter when Walters hit a pair of free throws to knot the game at 29-29.
Furman had a chance to take the lead on its next possession, but turned it over. That turnover led to a three-pointer by the Mocs, which started a 7-0 run. Chattanooga used another 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to take its biggest lead at 12 and never led by fewer than six the rest of the way. After Ryan's three less than two minutes in, the Paladins other three didn't come until Walters made one with 1:20 remaining - snapping a team streak of 14 consecutive misses.
"It's been such an honor playing at Furman, and for the university, Coach (Jackie) Carson, Coach P and the entire staff during my five long years here," said Walters, who finished with a game-high 19 points and a team-high three assists. "The people here are why I decided to play here. I'll always consider them family."
Walters finishes her career with 1,268 points, which ranks 14th in school history. She's also second in program history with 453 assists. Freshman Raina McGowens had nine points and five rebounds off the bench for Furman Friday, while Jada Session, Kate Johnson and Sydney Ryan each scored seven for the Paladins. Session also pulled down 10 rebounds, giving her 677 in her career - the 10th most in school history.
"This year, I had a lot of nagging injuries that kind of took me out of games. I feel like it made me want to take advantage of the opportunity to play another game," Johnson said. "My mom played at Furman for four years. So it was always a dream of mine when I was little to do the same thing. I think it's amazing looking back on it and fulfilling that little girl's dream that wanted to follow her mom's footsteps."
Karsen Murphy lead Chattanooga (16-13) with 18 points, while Elisaldez had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists before fouling out with 3:10 remaining in the game.
In the final seconds, Curtis called for an intentional turnover to stop the clock. The stoppage allowed him to sub out his senior starters, so they could get one last ovation from fans and embraces from coaches and teammates. After the game, Curtis praised their work ethic.
"Our group as a whole, we fought. We showed who we are as Furman student-athletes. ... I got two kids up here right now (in the postgame conference) who've been with me for the longest. One of them (Walters) is coming off an (torn) Achilles. The other one (Johnson), I don't even know what part of her knee she has left that she hasn't given to Furman," Curtis said. "I've got another one in Jada, who's had two ACL (injuries).
"My kids are getting after it. They're giving everything that have to not only the basketball program at Furman, but the school as well. So I don't have any regrets for how the game went. We can leave here with our heads held high as Furman University women's basketball."
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