Lady Buccaneers no match for Furman

By Wes Holtsclaw
STAR CORRESPONDENT
wholtsclaw@starhq.com

   JOHNSON CITY -- It was a very frustrating evening Monday night at the Memorial Center for the ETSU Lady Bucs.
   The Furman Lady Paladins used hard zone defense and a fastbreak technique to wear down the Lady Bucs throughout their contest as they took an overwhelming 86-64 SoCon victory.
   The Lady Buccaneers played tough throughout the first 10 minutes of the first half behind Kiya Verdell and Jessica Lonon.
   But a strong series of buckets from Deshara Shealey and Laney Harris appeared to set off a series of back fires against ETSU as Furman took a 37-28 lead into the second half, a lead they would never relenquish.
   "It's a good win for us," said Furman coach and former Clemson assistant Sam Dixon. "I think our kids competed hard and did some good things overall from start to finish."
   A big shot to ETSU took place when Verdell was sat out with four immediate fouls early in the second half with a game high 17 points after she led her squad back within four. It really took the attitude out of the squad.
   "I think the ref made some pretty bad calls (against me)," said Verdell. "I know there were some fouls I didn't have, but I guess that's how things go. We're pretty upset to let some team that's not 20 points better than us come into our house and beat us by 22. That's something we've got to work on."
   Furman had six players reach double digits in the contest, really showing its prowess on the evening.
   Deshara Shealey led the group with 16 points, while Katie Roach, Tommi Paris and Lauren Few had 13, 12, and 11, respectively. Jen Nadalin and Laney Harris chipped in 10 apiece.
   "They're definitely not (20 points better)," said ETSU head coach Karen Kemp. "We play much better teams closer and that's what's so devestating. But I give Furman credit. They came in and played zone on us all night.
   "I knew from the beginning of the year that we didn't have the outside shooting that we've had from the past. That showed tonight. We had to depend on the short jumper and from the post position."
   "We've got ten players on the team," she said. "And for us to be successful, we've got to have them show up each night."
   Jessica Lonon and Lauren Trantham had 12 and 13 apiece for ETSU.