Box Score Box Score
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston hit 14-of-18 free throws in the second half and used the timely shots from the charity tosses to pull away for a 59-44 triumph Monday evening against Wofford inside John Kresse Arena in Charleston, S.C. The Cougars hit 24-of-28 overall in the game after making all six of their attempts during the first half.
Brooke Kotcella paced the Cougars to an early 13-6 lead when she netted seven points during the stretch, including a step-back 3-pointer at 13:19 start a 7-0 spurt. A Kate Dempsey free throw snapped the streak, but Tonia Gerty hit another triple and Kotcella added a bucket down low to keep Charleston ahead, 18-9, at the under eight-minute timeout.
Wofford fought back with a half-ending 9-4 run featuring a pair of jumpers from Kelsi Koenig and a backcourt steal and coast-to-coast layup from Kelly Dwyer at 4:22. The Terriers kept the defensive pressure up and forced CofC to use its second timeout of the half shortly after Dwyer’s play. College of Charleston (9-7, 5-1 SoCon) converted its last field goal at 7:12 by Jill Furstenburg.
Defense carried Wofford back late in the first half as the Terriers limited the Cougars to 7-of-34 (20.6 percent) on field goals during the opening 20 minutes.
The second half opened with an Ashley Scott free throw, but Liz Miller then netted her first points of the game followed by a baseline jumper from Dempsey. Koenig nailed a top-of-the-key triple at 14:02 to pull Wofford (9-7, 2-3 SoCon) within two, 27-25.
Charleston then exploded over the next six minutes with a 16-6 run as Furstenburg recorded seven points and Gerty added five to increase the Cougar lead to 43-31 with 7:30 left.
The Terriers would then mount an 8-4 spurt, highlighted by four points from the foul line, to close within eight, 47-39, at the under four-minute timeout at 3:29. It was about that point in which the Cougars started to use frequent trips to the foul line to pull away. They would score their final 10 points from the charity stripe and halt any attempted comeback the Terriers may have had.
Furstenburg, the Southern Conference’s second leading scorer, finished with a game-high 18 points. Gerty contributed 13 points, while Kotcella finished just short of a double-double with nine points and a game-high tying 12 rebounds.
Koenig’s 12 points paced the Terriers. She was the only Wofford player to reach double figures.
Summer Nichols hauled in a season-best 12 boards to tie Kotcella. The dozen caroms are one shy of the Terrier junior’s career high.
Wofford will return home Saturday when it welcomes Western Carolina to the Benjamin Johnson Arena for a 2 p.m. tip. The Terriers will also face Chattanooga at 6 p.m. Monday in the two-game home set.
