SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A record crowd of 2,190 attended Wofford College's third annual Growing Up Gold: Education Day on Monday morning. The women's basketball team faced stiff competition, dropping a 79-47 decision to visiting East Tennessee State in the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Wofford (4-12, 0-2 SoCon) had no answer for the best offense in the conference. ETSU (10-7, 2-0 SoCon), who averages 72.1 points per game, shot just over 50 percent from the floor in the 32-point victory.
Wofford began the game with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Maria Corella. The three point lead would be the Terriers' largest of the game before the Buccaneers would pull away. The game remained close through the 14 minute mark until ETSU opened up a definitive 11-0 run. The Terriers tried to pull back, but the Buccaneers continued to extend their lead, building a 20-point margin by halftime.
The Terriers were limited to 32.7 percent shooting from the field, with a 17.6 percent clip from the conference's stingiest perimeter defense. Sophomore guard Kentra Washington led the team's scoring output, putting up 12 points off the bench on a 4-of-7 shooting performance. Junior guard Ashton Fleming joined Washington as the only other Terrier scoring in double figures, going 5-of-9 from the floor. Fleming also led Wofford in rebounds with six.
ETSU had four players score in doubles figures. Two-time SoCon freshman of the week Tianna Tarter led the charge with 18, while Maria Bond (14), Destiny Mitchell (14) and Chandler Christopher (12) joined her in double-digit points. Despite winning the rebound margin by 15, ETSU was limited to eight second-chance points.
The Buccaneers started the second half as hot as they left the first. Wofford worked inside the paint to hold the Buccaneers at bay, but the lead grew to as many as 34 at the eight minute mark. The lead grew to 38, until Wofford cut it back to 32 when the final buzzer sounded.
The Terriers will look to recoup and earn their first conference win on Saturday, as they travel down to Macon, Georgia to take on league newcomer Mercer. The Terriers and Bears tip at 2:00 p.m.
