CLEMSON – It took two quarters for Clemson to shed some rust after a week off, but a second-half surge from Tiger veterans secured a 76-57 win over the Furman Paladins at Timmons Arena Sunday.

In the second installment of an all-purple matchup this weekend after the Tigers’ football team bested the Paladins at Memorial Stadium Saturday, guard Mia Moore assumed the role of quarterback Sunday, finishing with 10 assists and 13 points en route to a surgical second-half dissection of the Southern Conference opponent.

The Paladins (2-5) were on an early crusade against the Tigers, (4-2) opening all scoring with a free throw and two jumpers to take an early 6-2 lead over Clemson. The Tigers battled back with a two-point jumper from Taylor Johnson-Matthews and the first three of the night from Moore to take a 7-6 lead with just over seven minutes to play in the first quarter, but Furman’s Chantelle Stuart silenced the visiting prowl of Tigers with a three-pointer on the wing of her own.

The Tigers, led by head coach Shawn Poppie, caught their breath a little as the quarter progressed, as three-pointers from Rusne Augustinaite, Hannah Kohn, and freshman Holland Harris fell to secure a 20-11 Clemson lead after the first period.

In that span, the Tigers forced four Furman turnovers and shot 44.4-percent from the floor. Poppie’s squad did not get to sit with a comfortable lead for long, however, as the Paladins went on a 15-6 run in the second quarter to tie the Tigers 26-26 with 3:17 to play in the half. 

In the span, Furman guard Lauren Bailey shot a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range, while freshman Brooklyn King knocked down one of her own. In the first half, the Paladins shot 75-percent from beyond-the-arc, while the Tigers only drained five three-pointers on 33-percent shooting. 

Additionally, the Tigers turned the ball over eight times across the first two quarters, notching seven fouls defensively. The Paladins blocked four shots and grabbed 17 defensive rebounds to Clemson’s 12 in the first half.

The offensive and defensive malpractices sent the Tigers to the locker room at the break in a 33-31 deficit.

But whatever speech was given, plays were called, or flip was switched at halftime changed the story for Clemson. The Tigers completed a 16-4 run across the first seven minutes of the third quarter, in which point guard Rachael Rose, former two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year, drained a three-pointer and two sure-handed takes to the rim.

Moore, after shooting 2-of-7 for the field in the first half and notching two giveaways, knocked down two shots, two free throws, and grabbed three rebounds in the third quarter to get the Tigers back on the winning side of the scoreboard. Defensively, the Tigers forced four turnovers and held the Paladins to 25-percent shooting, with a scoreless three-minute span.

Furman’s Bailey extended her perfect shooting streak with another three-pointer in the fourth quarter, bringing her to a team-high 15 points, but seven fourth-quarter points from Demeara Hinds secured a double-digit win. 

After two scoreless games, shooting guard Hannah Kohn knocked down two three-pointers and two free throws, finishing with eight points for the Tigers. Johnson-Matthews finished with seven, and Demeara Hinds notched 16, with 14 coming in the fourth quarter.

In the end, turnovers were the story of the game, as the Tigers scored 21 points off of 17 Paladin giveaways. Kohn finished with four steals while Rose added three of her own in addition to three assists.

After a week off, the Tigers took a half to shake off some rust, but ultimately size and skill powered Poppie’s squad to a victory. Clemson will have its next chance to extend its win streak Tuesday, when the Tigers will host the UL Monroe Warhawks at Littlejohn Coliseum at 7 p.m.