The schools playing women’s basketball at Richardson Indoor Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m. are similar.
The Furman Paladins (11-7, 1-1 SoCon) and the Wofford Terriers (9-7, 1-1) do, too.
Both have thus far defeated Western Carolina and lost to UNC Greensboro. Furman hasn’t played a home conference game. This is Wofford’s first.
Although Furman holds a dominant 49-18 lead in the all-time series, Wofford has evened things of late, winning both games a year ago.
The Paladins are 17-12 all-time versus the Terriers in Spartanburg, but Wofford has won the last six clashes on its home court, including a 79-55 triumph last season.
To turn the tables Furman will need solid play from its junior forward tandem of Jada Session and Kate Johnson, who have delivered solid production this season under first-year head coach Pierre Curtis.
In addition to headlining a balanced attack, the 6- 1 Session (13.1 ppg) tops the SoCon in rebounding (8.7), which she has used to rack up six double-doubles on the campaign.
The 6- 3 Johnson, meanwhile, qualifies as the team’s most improved player, upping her scoring (13.1) and rebounding averages (7.6) considerably from a year ago (1.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg). She easily paces the league in field goal percentage (.630) and scored a game-high 19 points in Furman’s last outing against UNCG.
Johnson was the SoCon’s Student-Athlete of the Week. The Acworth, Ga., product has a 3.52 grade-point average in business administration.
Furman’s wing and guard play have been solid in stretches. The trio of Sydney Ryan (11.8 ppg), Niveya Henley (10.9) and Tate Walters (10.5) have been a major factor in the Paladins’ posting the SoCon’s best offensive numbers (72.4 ppg). Ryan’s 3-point shooting ability (.452) is noteworthy.
The impact small foward Sydney James (6.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg) has had at times can tip the scales in Furman’s favor in any league contest. Over the last five games (4-1) the senior has averaged 11.0 ppg and connected on 7-of-15 3-pointers.
The Paladins hope to leverage their rebounding ability against the Terriers, entering the game with a league best 11.8 margin on the glass. More effective ballhandling could also be big for Furman, which has suffered a league high 318 turnovers (17.7/game) thru 18 games.
Furman plays two home games next week, making its Timmons Arena SoCon season debut on Thursday versus Samford and facing Mercer on Saturday.
Furman is ranked among the nation’s most successful NCAA Division I programs in Learfield Directors’ Cup Division I competition for the 2023-24 school year.
Updated standings place Furman 53rd among the 159 schools that have registered points for teams qualifying for NCAA Championships. The Paladins’ rank first among Southern Conference institutions, topping Mercer (82nd) and Chattanooga (108th). Other ranked SoCon programs include Western Carolina (T159th) and Wofford (T159th).
Furman has paced all SoCon schools in the competition six times over the last seven years and was the league front runner in March of 2020 when the Covid pandemic halted competition.
Furman’s current tally of 120 points has been earned on the merit of two sports — football and women’s cross country — qualifying for NCAA Tournament play this year.
Tight end Mason Pline represents Paladin football at the East-West Shrine Bowl, to be played at 8 p.m., on Thursday, Feb. 1, in Frisco, Texas. The college all-star contest is to be televised on The NFL Network.
Transfers Vivanna Gutierrez, from Statesboro, Ga., and Tara Katz, from Montgomery, Ala., have joined the women’s soccer program.
Gutierrez, who will have four seasons of eligibility with the Paladins, is the younger sister of former Paladin and Southern Conference Player of the Year Isabella Gutierrez and current Furman midfielder Helen Gutierrez.
Katz joins the Furman roster as a graduate transfer after five seasons at the University of Tennessee.
Furman (0-2) has men’s tennis matches scheduled at home against Queens on Friday at 3 p.m. and James Madison on Saturday at 1.
Women’s tennis (0-1) takes on the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday at 11 a.m. Sunday’s match at South Alabama has been canceled due to predicted weather in Mobile.
Indoor track and field takes part in the Carolina Challenge, predictably at the University in Columbia, on Friday and Saturday.
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