SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sophomore guard Maria Corella led the charge, as the Terriers finished their out-of-conference slate with a 69-45 win over NAIA foe Bluefield College on Monday evening in the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Corella, a native of Summerville, South Carolina, poured in 19 of her career-best 22 points in the first half to lift the otherwise struggling Terrier offense. The second-year guard went 7-of-14 from the field, with three buckets from beyond the arc, while the remaining Wofford players combined for just 6-of-23 on the floor in the first 20 minutes.
Despite some early offensive struggles, Wofford (5-13, 0-3 SoCon) never trailed in the game.
Corella was joined by Chanel Stokes as the other Terrier scoring in double figures. The junior point guard came alive in the second half, stringing together an impressive stat line by the end of the game – 15 points, 10 rebounds and six steals. The game marked Stokes' first career double-double.
Two other Terriers also came close to earning 10-plus in two categories. Junior guard Ashton Fleming racked up a team-high 13 rebounds while coming a point shy of her seventh career double-double, while senior center Michelle Merritt scored eight while grabbing 10 boards.
"I thought we did a really good job of setting the tone defensively," said eleventh-year head coach Edgar I. Farmer, Jr. on the win. "We really used our size to our advantage, attacking the glass and grabbing boards for second-chance points."
Wofford did just that. The Terriers dominated Bluefield (8-12, 5-6 AAC) on the glass, outrebounding the visiting Rams, 59-38.
"We knew that Bluefield would be very scrappy, and that if we could extend our defensive pressure, force some turnovers and get some easy buckets in transition, we knew we could be successful," Farmer continued. "Even though we started a bit slow on the offensive end, I felt that Maria Corella did a nice job of stretching the defense and help us gain the lead."
For Bluefield, only Shelby Key was able to achieve double figures scoring, netting 10 on 3-of-6 from the field. Wofford suppressed the Rams' shooting to just 27.7 percent from the field. The Terriers also held Bluefield down to 45 points in the game – 10 points below their season average.
Wofford jumped ahead early on against Bluefield, with Corella and Stokes each netting a quick five points to give the Terriers a 10-2 lead headed into the first media timeout at 15:28. Wofford then hit a dry spell, when Key forged a 6-0 run for Bluefield over the next five minutes.
While a host of Rams scored, Corella carried the majority of the offensive load in the first 20 minutes. The final play of the half closed with Stokes diving to the floor to force a steal from Whitney Smith, then throwing the ball up to Corella. The sophomore pulled up a smooth jumper from 15 feet out, beating the buzzer to send the Terriers into the locker room up by nine.
Wofford entered the second half reenergized, opening up a 10-2 run to get the period started. Wofford attacked the lane in the second, scoring 22 points in the paint. The Terriers led by as many as 26 in the matchup before the eventual 24-point victory.
Wofford takes back to the floor on Saturday, where they travel to Johnson City, Tennessee, to face ETSU in the second meeting of the season with the conference foe. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m.
