ORANGEBURG, SC – The South Carolina State women (0-1) and first-year head coach Doug Robertson hope to break into the win column Friday when the Lady Bulldogs travel to Greenville to take on Furman (2-0) in a 7 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.
The Lady Bulldogs are 0-1 after losing at home Tuesday to 78-54 to Mercer, spoiling the debut of Robertson, who took over the helm of the SC State program this year.
Today’s contest will be a challenge for the Lady Bulldogs, who will face a veteran Paladin squad that is 2-0 on the season, with one of the victories an 82-68 triumph over Clemson, who beat South Carolina 52-45 Wednesday to spoil the home opener for the Lady Gamecocks’ Dawn Staley.
In losing to Mercer, SC State shot poorly from the field (38 percent) and at the charity stripe (46 percent). Robertson is hoping his team will improve in both categories
against Furman.
Senior center Marie Reid, 6-4, had 13 points on 6-11 shooting for the Lady Bulldogs in the loss to Mercer, while freshmen guards Raina Chambers (5-4) and Orangeburg-Wilkinson product Lateia Brailey (5-4) had 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the loss. Senior Jenell Moore grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and contributed eight points for SC State.
Furman will be paced by 5-8 junior Lee Williams, who is averaging 25.5 points in two games. She is supported by 5-11 senior Melissa Liesbschwager and 5-11 junior Kali Holtfreter, who are contributing 16.5 and 13.0 points, respectively. 6-4 senior Katie Johnson leads the team in rebounds with 9.0 per game.