SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The women's basketball team came back from a 11-point halftime deficit against the defending Southern Conference champion University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs to take a lead in the fourth period, but the Mocs ultimately won 53-40 Thursday night in Benjamin Johnson Arena.
 
Down 25-14 at the half, the Terriers (5-9, 0-1 SoCon) started the third period on a 9-0 run to make it a two-point game with 4:46 to go in the period. After a Chattanooga (10-5, 1-0 SoCon) free throw made it 26-23, Terrier forward Kentra Washington converted a layup to cut the lead to one and then earned a three-point play the next trip down to give the Terriers a 28-26 lead.
 
"We felt like we were a little bit out of sync in the first half," said Terrier head coach Edgar I. Farmer, Jr. after the game when asked about making halftime adjustments. "We talked about being in sync and playing our basketball and I thought the team really responded and did a great job with that. We came out with great energy and that translated into offensive consecutive possessions and stops on the defensive end. I was really proud of the way our team responded against the two-time defending champs."
 
Wofford would hold Chattanooga without a field goal in the third period, but the Mocs did make five free throws to make it a tie game at 30-30 heading into the final period.
 
Terrier guard Jordan Frazier opened the fourth period with a steal and a fast-break layup to give the Terriers a 32-30 lead with 9:11 left to play. Chattanooga responded however with seven straight points, four from guard Queen Alford and three from guard Alicia Payne, to take a 37-32 lead.
 
A Washington layup cut the lead to three on the next possession with 6:33 to go, but the Terriers could not get the deficit down any further as Chattanooga closed the game out by outscoring Wofford 15-6 down the stretch.
 
"We understand that we have to be able to finish the game, but I'm super proud of the effort of our kids tonight," Coach Farmer said.
 
Washington finished the game with a double-double, her second this season and fourth her career. She led the team with 16 points, 12 in the second half alone, and 10 rebounds on 7-13 shooting to go with two steals.
 
"I thought she played with a lot of guts and that she really battled," Coach Farmer said. "She played strong defense and was tough on the boards, made really tough plays, even some that won't show up in the box score, and I thought she was fiery and played with a lot of passion. That was contagious to the rest of the team in the second half."
 
Frazier finished the game with six points, three assists and three steals. She sits nine points away from achieving 1,000 career points.
 
The Mocs were led offensively by Alford, who had a game-high 20 points on 8-9 shooting to go with six rebounds. Guard Keiana Gilbert scored 14 points as well, while forward Jasmine Joyner led the Mocs with eight rebounds.
 
Wofford started the game shooting 5-26 from the field while Chattanooga raced out to a 25-14 halftime lead. The Mocs shot an even 6-11 from the field in each the first and second period (54.5 percent).
 
For the game, Wofford ended the night shooting 30 percent (15-50) from the field, but went 0-18 from beyond the arc while making 10-10 free throws. Chattanooga finished the game shooting 48.7 percent (19-39), making 3-10 threes and 12-17 free throws (70.6 percent).
 
The Terriers were outrebounded by Chattanooga 29-28, but Wofford won the turnover battle, forcing the Mocs into 22 turnovers compared to the Terriers' 20. Wofford also had 11 steals and converted 24 points off Moc turnovers.
 
The loss at home snapped Wofford's five-game winning streak in Ben Johnson Arena. It also extends Chattanooga's streak over Wofford to 37 straight games, with the last Terrier win vs. the Mocs coming in the first round of the 1999 SoCon Tournament.
 
Wofford looks to turn things around Saturday when it hosts SoCon-rival East Tennessee State University.
 
"We understand that we are going to be playing another strong Southern Conference team," Coach Farmer said. "We're going to have to take care of the basketball a little bit better, but if we will play with the same effort that we played tonight and then knock down some shots, I really like how our team is going to perform."
 
Tip-off against the Buccaneers is at 5 p.m. in Benjamin Johnson Arena.