SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Women's basketball forward Kentra Washington scored 23 points, one point shy of tying her career high set in her previous outing, as the Terriers fell 70-61 to the Mercer Bears Thursday in Benjamin Johnson Arena.
 
The Terriers (7-13, 1-5 SoCon) led at the half 34-27 after guard Maria Corella buried a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer. The Bears (15-6, 5-1 SoCon) however erased Wofford's lead over the third period by outscoring the Terriers 21-10 to start the second half, taking the lead that lasted the rest of the game with 2:56 remaining in the third period.
 
"I thought we did a very nice job of coming out, playing with great energy and pace and getting great stops on the defensive end," Head Coach Edgar I. Farmer, Jr., said after the game. "I thought we did a nice job of getting the ball inside. I thought we did some really good things. We just didn't have some shots fall for us that normally go in. But if we keep putting ourselves in position, next time those things will change."
 
Wofford started the game hot offensively, shooting 46.2 percent from the floor in the first period to take a 17-12 lead early. Guard Jordan Frazier had seven of her 15 points in the game in the first ten minutes, going 3-3 to start the game from the floor.
 
Down 48-44 heading into the final period, the Terriers continued to keep the game close by trading shots with the Bears throughout the final period. A Washington three-pointer with 29 seconds remaining brought the Terriers to within three points of tying the game.
 
Mercer however would score the final six points of the game on free throws to ice the game away.
 
"I liked how we came out aggressive, and I liked how we came out defensively," Coach Farmer said.  "We understand that is going to be our calling card. It's a four quarter game, but I am confident that we will shore those things up moving forward."
 
Washington led the Terriers with 23 points on 8-12 shooting (3-5 from three) to go with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Frazier had 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, and forward Grayson Pinholster had 12 points and six rebounds as well. Guard Ashton Fleming led the Terriers with 10 rebounds.
 
Mercer was led offensively by guard KeKe Calloway, who scored 18 points on 7-15 shooting (4-8 from three). Guards Kahlia Lawrence and Sydni Means also scored in double figures, chipping in 17 points and 15 points respectively, while forward Amanda Thompson led the Bears with seven rebounds.
 
Wofford in the game shot 38.8 percent from the floor and allowed Mercer to shoot 40.4 percent. The Terriers did outrebound Mercer 34-33 and forced the Bears into 13 turnovers, scoring 16 points off Mercer giveaways. Mercer however had better contributions from their bench, with their reserves outscoring Wofford's subs 28-7.
 
The loss extends Wofford's losing streak against Mercer to four games and moves their record in Ben Johnson Arena to 6-5 this season. Mercer currently sits in a tie for first place in the SoCon standings at 5-1 with Samford, who is Wofford's next opponent.
 
"It's conference play," Coach Farmer said. "The next opponent gets you fired up. We understand we need to fix some little things, but we will be ready to go on Saturday."
 
The Terriers host Samford Saturday afternoon in Benjamin Johnson Arena at 2 p.m., the first game of a men's-women's home doubleheader at Wofford College this weekend.