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| Alyssa Ervin had 27 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists in Furman's 66-45 win over Mercer Thursday. Photo courtesy of Furman |
The rubber game of the season series between Furman and Mercer became the rubber half in Thursday's opening round of the Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament in Asheville. The fourth-seeded Paladins and fifth-seeded Bears, who each won on the other team's home court in the regular season, went into halftime tied at 29.
After Mercer used a 13-0 fourth quarter run to break open a tight game and roll to a win at Timmons Arena 12 days earlier, Furman emphatically returned the favor Thursday at the Harrah's Cherokee Center. Backed by Alyssa Ervin's career-high scoring night of 27 points, the Paladins cruised to a 66-45 victory. Furman, which outscored the Bears 29-8 over the final 14 minutes, advances to face top-seeded Chattanooga in Friday's semifinals at 11 a.m.
"We kind of made it a point to just go back to the basics of who we were and who we are. And it started the last game (a 64-42 win over SoCon co-champion Wofford Saturday)," said Furman coach Pierre Curtis in the postgame press conference. "The defensive effort that we had today in that second half, that was special. So we've had two really, really big defensive performances in a row.
"Two weeks ago, we didn't put our best foot forward when we played them, and for us to give up however many points (80) in that game, we knew we had to do something a little bit different."
The teams slogged through an ugly opening quarter, combining for 15 turnovers. Eight of those were by the Paladins, which helped Mercer take a 12-11 lead. Play became sharper and the score even closer in the second quarter as neither team ever took a two-possession lead. For the opening half, there were 17 lead changes before the fifth tie going into halftime.
With Mercer's defense clearly focused on Furman first team All-SoCon performer Claire Coyle, Ervin - a second team All-SoCon pick - took over the first half. She had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals and played all 20 minutes. A couple of early fouls limited Coyle to nine minutes and two points as she made her only shot attempt in the first half.
"In the first half, we just missed some shots, overthrew some passes, and we knew once we started connecting on passes and we started connecting on some shots that we had a chance to kind of take over the game," Curtis said. "I think one big part of it was we stopped turning the ball over. We had 11 turnovers in the first half, and we only had five in the second half."
Furman opened the second half by going 0-for-6 from the floor with two of those five second-half turnovers. The Paladins looked a bit lost on their next offensive possession when Curtis called timeout with 6:06 left in the third quarter. Coming out of the timeout, Furman seemed intent on attacking the paint either with drives or passes to Coyle down low.
Raina McGowens drove to the basket and dished to Ervin in the corner for a game-tying three. On the next trip, Coyle drew a foul, grabbed an offensive rebound and found Chantelle Stuart at the top of the key for another three. Coyle hit a pretty turnaround jumper on the next possession to push the lead to five and force a Mercer timeout.
The Bears responded with back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 37, but that was the last of their responses. Ervin answered on Furman's ensuing possession when she was fouled on a three-point attempt and drilled all three free throws. Ervin drove and drew another foul on Furman's next trip and hit both free throws. The play of the game followed as McGowens stole an errant pass near Mercer's baseline. She turned upcourt along the sideline, took two dribbles, and fired a long pass to Coyle for a layup to push the lead to 45-37.
That momentum carried over throughout the fourth quarter. Following a layup by Coyle, Ervin's fourth three basically removed all doubt as it extended the lead to 17 with 4:56 remaining. After its three-pointer to tie the game at 37 with 3:44 left in the third quarter, Mercer (17-13) missed each of its next 13 shots. The Bears' next made basket came on a layup with 1:18 left to cut the lead to 64-42.
"I think we just really locked into our defensive game plan. We talked all week about staying in gaps and just making it really tough for them to score in the paint," Coyle said. "I think that's what really has changed for us in the second half."
That 17-point lead allowed Coyle to take the final 4:50 off, which could be vital considering the quick turnaround Furman's facing Friday morning. After one more jumper by Ervin with 2:20 left, the rest of the Paladin regulars joined Coyle on the bench.
Along with her game-high 27 points, Ervin had six rebounds, five steals, three assists and just one foul and one turnover. Coyle finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with eight rebounds, while Sophia Pearl had nine points and five rebounds and Stuart had eight points and three assists. McGowens had a rough shooting day offensively, but was a difference maker on defense with six rebounds and three steals. Brooklyn King added three blocks and two steals for Furman (18-12).
"Once I saw the first two shots go in, I was like, I was ready to play. Sometimes my defense can be a little rocky," Ervin said. "Tonight ... we had to lock in. I don't know, but I think I was in the gaps better than I usually am and I was able to get some steals."
Ervin's 27 points was the most by a Paladin in the SoCon Tournament since Rushia Brown scored 37 in a 77-73 win over Appalachian State in 1994.
Furman legend enters SoCon Hall of Fame
It was almost as if Furman couldn't lose Thursday evening. Not on the same night that Jackie Smith Carson was inducted into the SoCon Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Battery Park Hall in Asheville shortly after the game.
Carson, who is the only person in league history to earn player and coach of the year honors in either men's or women's basketball, is the 10th Furman representative inducted into the SoCon Hall of Fame. She's the second women's basketball legend to make the Hall, which was formed in 2009, joining Brown.
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| SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross and Furman legend Jackie Smith Carson. Photo courtesy of Furman |
A four-year starter, three-time All-SoCon honoree, and player of the year selection in both 1998 and 1999, Carson led the SoCon in scoring as a sophomore and junior and topped the league in rebounding in each of her final three seasons. She recorded 52 double-doubles (points-rebounds) and finished with 1,920 points, 1,057 rebounds, ranking second and third, respectively, all-time in Furman history. She holds SoCon records for most free throws made in a season (212) and career (724) and averaged 16.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a Paladin.
Carson earned Furman's Edna Hartness Female Athlete of the Year Award in 1999 and is among three Paladins to have her jersey (No. 22) retired. Carson was inducted into Furman's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
After working as an assistant at Bucknell and James Madison, Carson became head coach at Furman in 2010 and guided the program for 13 seasons. She was named SoCon Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2022. Carson is now in her third year as Senior Vice President of Women's Basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
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