Freshmen Eboni Williams and Abbey Cornelius and sophomore Bria Dial led UTC to a 43-20 first-half lead over Furman on Saturday at McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga wound up winning 73-53 to stay undefeated in Southern Conference play at 3-0.
Dial was 3-of-6 from long range and had a career-high 14 points and three assists along with two blocked shots and a pair of steals
Williams came off the bench to score 13, while the 6'2" Cornelius from Knoxville had eight in the first stanza. Williams left with a shoulder injury late in the game after scoring 15.
Chattanooga shot 57 percent from the field in the first half, while Furman went cold with only 18 percent from the field. UTC tallied 13 assistants.
UTC, coming off a home win over Wofford, had doubled the score at 22-11 by the end of the first quarter. A Williams close-in shot made it 38-16, then Cornelius put one in for a 41-16 advantage. Williams scored again as Furman stayed mired at 16 until just before the half.
Chattanooga now holds a 53-24 series advantage over longtime Southern Conference member Furman, though Furman had won three of the last four meetings.
Le'Jzae Davidson, the all-time Paladin 3-point leader, did not play in the first half, then she started the second half with two quick threes off screens at the top of the key. Furman went on a 12-2 run and at one time had pulled to within 12 at 49-37.
Then Lakelyn Bouldin connected from the field and followed it with a three as UTC led 54-37. It was 56-41 at the close of the third quarter.
UTC improves to 8-10.