ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Terriers outscored ETSU 50-35 in the final 20 minutes on Saturday afternoon, as the No. 5 seeded Wofford women's basketball team completed a second half comeback to upset the No. 4 seeded ETSU Bucs, 75-66, in the 2019 Ingles Southern Conference Women's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. The win marks the first playoff win since 2012, as the last time Wofford has won a SoCon quarterfinals matchup was in the 2002 SoCon tournament against Georgia Southern. The victory marks Jimmy Garrity's first SoCon tournament win, as the Terriers will go on to face top-seeded Mercer at 11 a.m. in the semifinals at the U.S. Cellular Center.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of our players," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "To come in here on the road, where we haven't been good on the road all year, in a neutral environment (and get a win) against a really good team. Hats off to ETSU. They got on us early and we didn't play very well."
 
Wofford finished shooting 40.3 percent (27-67 FG) for the contest, while knocking down 9-of-18 (50%) from beyond the arc. The Terriers also finished 12-for-17 (70.6%) from the line.
 
Four Terriers finished in double figures, led by sophomore Da'Ja Green with a team-high 22 points, hitting 4-of-6 (66.7%) from beyond the arc and 6-for-8 (75%) from the free throw line. Green also added six rebounds, a game-high eight assists, and four steals in the contest.
 
"Da'Ja has just done an unbelievable job of running this team," said Garrity of Green. "She has a high basketball IQ and knows what we want her to do. She knows every strength and every weakness of every player. She knows the plays inside out and she knows what will work and what won't."
 
Junior Chloe Wanink finished with 16 points, on 50 percent shooting (6-12 FG), two rebounds, and one assist. Wanink hit two threes on the day to move her into second all-time for career 3-point field goals made with 161.
 
"As for Chloe, I couldn't be more happy for her. She is one of the hardest workers," added Garrity. "You come in around 7 or 8 in the morning and she's putting shots up. After practice, she's putting shots up. She works on her craft because it's important to her. And down the stretch, when you need a bucket, she doesn't shy away from it."
 
Classmate Cairo Booker followed with 11 points on 4-of-8 (50%) from the floor, adding four rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while sophomore Jamari McDavid rounds out the double-figure scorers with 10 points, three rebounds, two blocks, and one steal.
 
Freshman Niyah Lutz (seven points, two rebounds), senior Marissa Bayer (four points, nine rebounds, four blocks), and freshmen MaryMartha Turner (three points, seven rebounds) and Alexis Tomlin (two points, four rebounds, four blocks) round out the scoring for the Terriers.
 
After a hot ETSU start in the first, the Bucs pushed a 14-point margin, 24-10, on a Raven Dean layup to open the second. A Niyah Lutz lay-in went on to create a 6-0 spurt, with buckets from Wanink and Marissa Bayer, to cut the deficit to 24-16 by the 6:57 mark. An ETSU layup made for a 10-point spread, but Wofford climbed back behind a MaryMartha Turner trey ball and Bayer short corner jumper to cut the deficit to five, 26-21. Both teams would then go on to exchange baskets for the duration of the half, as Niyah Lutz and Alexis Tomlin scores sent the score at 31-25 heading into the intermission.
 
Both squads showcased stingy defense in the first half, as the Terriers shot 11-for-32 (31.6%) while holding the Bucs to just 34.4 percent shooting (12-38 FG) through the first 20 minutes. The two teams shot well from beyond the arc though, with Wofford seeing 3-of-9 (33.3%) go in as ETSU hit an efficient 3-for-7 (42.9%) from deep.
 
Da'Ja Green came out the half burying a three while fouled, converting the four-point play to cut the ETSU lead to one possession, 31-29. Cairo Booker then followed deadlocking the game at 31-31 with an and-1 layup, though, ETSU's Michah Sheetz answered with a triple to hold the lead at 34-31. Green found Chloe Wanink for a jumper, as Wanink then followed with a three to give Wofford their first lead of the day, 36-34, shortly after. The teams would trade ties before four points from Jamari McDavid and Booker free throws held a 42-39 lead at the under-5 media timeout (4:48). A Sheetz jumper ensued, however, the Terriers would control the rest of the third, ending the quarter with a 7-0 run on buckets from Green, Lutz, and Wanink to hold a 49-41 advantage.
 
The fourth would be all Wofford for the rest of the way, as Da'Ja Green pushed the Terriers' first double-digit margin of the frame with a jumper to start, 51-41. A 10-4 ETSU run would bring the game within four (55-51) by the 6:23 mark, though, a Jamari McDavid finish and block on the other end set up a Wanink three to push Wofford's lead back to nine (60-51) just two possessions later. Shortly after, Cairo Booker and Da'Ja Green connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, as Green was fouled in motion for a four-point play, before a Wanink finish pushed their largest lead at 15 points, 71-56, with 2:46 left to play. Trading baskets over the next 1:43, a pair of Micah Sheetz free throws would cut the lead to nine (74-65), but the Bucs wouldn't come any closer as McDavid would block a Sheetz 3-point attempt with 51 seconds left to shut down any chances of a last minute comeback for ETSU. After a late foul and ETSU free throw, the Terriers would then hold on for the 75-66 win at the buzzer.

The Bucs held the edge in rebounds (48-42) for the contest, though, the Terriers forced 23 ETSU turnovers, receiving 31 points in return, while assisting on 12 makes on the day.

ETSU finished the contest shooting 35.9 percent (23-64 FG) from the field and 42.9 percent (6-14 3FG) from deep range. The Bucs were led by Micah Sheetz and Erica Haynes-Overton with a game-high 23 and 14 points respectively. 
 
"We've been confident all year long and especially this second half of the conference play, we've been a confident team," asserted coach Garrity. "If we can come out and play that way and hopefully guard pretty well and make some shots, we're going to be just fine."