CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Terriers found themselves back in the win column on Saturday afternoon after surviving a close 63-55 battle over Western Carolina at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center. A nine-point lead at halftime would support the Terriers in picking up their first SoCon win on the road, as the win moves Wofford to 4-5 in conference and 12-12 overall. The Catamounts remain winless in conference, dropping to 0-9 and 4-20 overall.
 
"Western Carolina, I give them a lot of credit. They fought and fought and we told them that," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "It'll build our confidence to have a team come back on us and still be able to maintain and take care of the ball. At the end of the day, we made some plays down the stretch and got some key stops when we needed to."
 
Junior Chloe Wanink paced the Terriers as the lone double-figure scorer with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Wanink also added two rebounds, an assist, and three steals.
 
Sophomore Jamari McDavid and freshman Alexis Tomlin both finished with eight points, as McDavid also recorded two rebounds, one block, and two steals. Junior Cairo Booker's presence was felt all over, as she tallied six points, six rebounds, four assists, and five steals.
 
Sophomore Da'Ja Green (five points, five rebounds, eight assists), senior Marissa Bayer (four points, six rebounds, one assist), freshmen MaryMartha Turner (four points, one rebound, one assist) and Niyah Lutz (two points, two rebounds) round out the scoring for Wofford on the day.
 
Chloe Wanink would score the first eight points for Wofford before finding Da'Ja Green for a 3-pointer to push an 11-4 lead early on in the first quarter. Another Wanink three would push an eight-point lead, as both teams would go on to trade baskets with a MaryMartha Turner jumper making the score 20-12 by the end of the first.
 
The Terriers maintained control in the second quarter, holding double-digit leads as large as 13 points throughout the period behind scores from Alexis Tomlin, Jamari McDavid, and Cairo Booker.  Wofford would go on to hold a 32-23 lead at the half, as they held Western Carolina to just 5-for-16 (31.3%) from the floor in the first half, while hitting 7-of-16 (43.8%) from the field and 4-for-6 (66.7%) from beyond the arc.
 
The Catamounts came out the break cutting the deficit to nine, though, Wofford would score six of the next eight points to hold a 13-point spread by the 4:28 mark, 42-29. The lead would fluctuate between single and double digits, as Wanink and Booker scores kept an 11-point lead, 46-35. However, a Gabby Smith 3-pointer would bring the score within eight by the end of the quarter, 46-38.
 
Western Carolina's Judith Martin Ruiz scored seven straight points for the Catamounts to close the gap to four, 49-45, just 1:30 into the fourth. Five points from Wanink, along with a Marissa Bayer jumper in the paint, went on to push the margin back to eight (58-50), however, Western Carolina's resilience would cut the deficit to three, 58-55, with 1:07 remaining. Only an one possession game with under a minute left, Niyah Lutz would corral a critical offensive board for a layup to push the score to 60-55. Wofford would then get a key defensive stop on the other end, as the Catamounts would force the Terriers to finish from the line, with Wanink knocking down three free throws to earn the 63-55 win at the end of regulation.
 
The Terriers finished the contest shooting 41.0 percent (25-61 FG) from the floor and 45.5 percent (5-11 3FG) from beyond the arc. Wofford also went 8-for-10 (80.0%) from the charity stripe on the day. Though the Catamounts took the rebound advantage, 39-30, Wofford forced 20 turnovers while assisting on 15 makes for the contest.
 
Western Carolina was led by Judith Martin Ruiz and Gabby Smith, their lone scorers in double figures, with 16 and 14 points respectively.
 
Next, the Terriers welcome ETSU to Richardson Indoor Stadium on Thursday, February 14, for Education Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m.