JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – The Wofford women's basketball team recovered from a double digit first half deficit to come back and defeat ETSU, 54-52, on Thursday night in Johnson City.
 
The win puts the Terriers at 13-15 on the season. The team's 13 wins are the most for the program in a season since 2011-12.
 
After falling behind by 14 points in the second quarter and trailing by nine points midway through the third, the Terriers rallied late in the third quarter to take a 1 point lead into the fourth. In the deciding quarter, Wofford's outstanding defense held the Buccaneers to just nine points and Cairo Booker's layup with 1:04 left proved to be the deciding basket in the game.
 
"We showed tremendous resiliency and toughness," head coach Jimmy Garrity said. "When we got down in the first half, there was a chance we could get blown out, but they never wavered on how they guarded. The biggest change was that we guarded the ball much better in the second half."
 
Chloe Wanink continued her outstanding play, finishing one point shy of a career high with 27 points. The sophomore guard added three assists, made three of six three pointers, and knocked down all four of her free throws.
 
"She had one heck of a game," Garrity said. "It was a great effort by her. She is tough to guard and she made big plays."
 
No other Terrier reached double figures in scoring, but Grayson Pinholster tallied nine points to go with a team high 12 rebounds. Booker added six points, six rebounds, and two steals.
 
The Buccaneers raced out to an early lead due to hot shooting from three point range. ETSU knocked in four out of eight from behind the arc to build an eight point lead after one quarter. The Terriers were held to 35% shooting in the period.
 
ETSU continued to lengthen its lead in the second quarter, as they played stifling defense and took advantage of transition opportunities.  The Terriers fell behind by as many as 14 points when the Bucs took a 28-14 lead. However, Wofford responded by closing the half on an 11-3 run. Wanink had an outstanding first half, leading all scorers with 13 points. Wofford also won the rebounding battle in the first half, grabbing 24 compared to ETSU's 22.
 
Coming out of halftime, Shamauria Bridges hit a three pointer on the opening possession to give the Buccaneers a nine point lead. The Terriers refused to go away, as they finished the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 44-43 lead into the fourth quarter. Wanink added 10 more points in the third, which gave her 23 points going into the final quarter.
 
The Terriers and Buccaneers traded small leads through the first part of the final period. With 4:57 left to play, the scored stood at 50-50.  With scoring hard to come by in the final minutes, Booker's layup with under a minute left proved to be the difference.
 
"I can't tell you how proud I am of our players," Garrity said. "We've been in every single game and they've never given up. They've kept their faith and played together and played for one another and I am just really happy for them."
 
Up next, the Terriers will conclude their regular season this Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., as they face Chattanooga on the road.