SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team put on a show in front of an electric crowd of over 1,800 elementary school students for Education Day on Thursday, surviving a 77-74 nail-biter over the visiting ETSU Bucs at Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Bucs cut the deficit to as close as one point in the fourth quarter, though, the Terriers would hold on for the win to move their record to 5-5 in league action and 13-12 overall. The Bucs falls to 5-4 in conference and 7-18 overall.
 
"They're a really really good team. We knew they would make a run at us," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "I'm just really thrilled the way we held on to it and knocked some big free throws down in the end. Then we needed to get a stop and we got one, so I'm really proud of them."
 
The Terriers received a full team effort as four players finished in double figures, led by junior Chloe Wanink with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 (50.0%) shooting. Upon today's performance, Wanink has reached double figures in 21 of the 25 games played this season.
 
Sophomore Da'Ja Green followed flirting with a triple-double, as she recorded 12 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on the day, in addition to two steals.
 
"She's been phenomenal," asserted Garrity of Green's play over the past few games. "Overall, just running the team, I thought she did a great job of getting the ball out, running in transition, making the right reads, and getting it to our shooters in the right spots."
 
Freshman Niyah Lutz provided solid minutes off the bench, finishing with 11 points and three rebounds, while senior Marissa Bayer rounds out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Junior Cairo Booker and sophomore Jamari McDavid finished with nine points each, as McDavid matched a season-high 12 rebounds while Booker added six rebounds and five assists. Freshman Alexis Tomlin completes the scoring for Wofford on the day with four points and five rebounds.
 
After a neck-and-neck first quarter put the Bucs ahead 17-15, the Terriers would outscore ETSU 25-10 in the second quarter to take control. Wofford sped the pace up in transition, behind five straight points from Niyah Lutz and a Booker finish, to force an ETSU timeout up 24-17. A Marissa Bayer jumper would give the Terriers its first double-digit lead (30-19), as buckets from McDavid, Booker, and a Wanink three pushed their largest lead of the half, 38-23, with 2:23 left. Wofford would then hold the double-digit lead heading into the break, 40-27.
 
Wofford received balanced scoring in the first half, as they shot 16-for-36 (44.4%) from the floor while knocking down 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line. The Terriers had held ETSU to just 34.4 percent (11-32 FG) from the field, as they also held the edge in rebounds, 23-19.
 
The Terriers started the half hot where they left off, as Chloe Wanink would go on to rattle off seven straight points to push a 20-point lead, 51-31, by the 5:58 mark of the quarter. ETSU's Erica Haynes-Overton then paced the Bucs, with 10 points in the third, to reel the game within a 10-point margin (55-45), though, Wanink and Lutz scores would hold a 14-point spread at the end of the fourth, 59-45.
 
Wofford remained persistent, holding double-digit leads through the opening minutes, though, ETSU would explode for a 13-0 run to bring the game within two, 66-64, by the 3:13 mark. Back-to-back layups from Da'Ja Green, Marissa Bayer, and Jamari McDavid pushed a six-point cushion, however, free throws from Lexus Spears and a Haynes-Overton three would then cut the lead to one, 75-74, with just four seconds remaining. Fouled on the inbound, Alexis Tomlin would go on to knock down two clutch free throws for the Terriers, as Wofford would shut down ETSU on the last possession to run off with the 77-74 win at the buzzer.
 
Wofford finished the contest shooting 41.3 percent (31-75 FG) from the floor, tallying 40 points in the paint, and 13-for-15 (86.7%) from the free throw line. The Bucs finished 28-for-66 (42.4%) from the field and were held to just 18.8 percent (3-16 3FG) from beyond the arc, though, ETSU finished with the edge in rebounds, 43-41.
 
The Terriers also created 15 turnovers, while assisting on 15 makes throughout the contest.
 
ETSU was led by Erica Haynes-Overton and Sadasia Tipps, with 21 and 17 points respectively on the day.
 
Next, the Terriers welcome Chattanooga to Richardson Indoor Stadium on Saturday, February 16 for the annual 'Play 4 Kay' Pink game. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.