CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Wofford's women's basketball team fell for the first time in conference play on Saturday with a 65-54 defeat. The Terriers fell behind early in the first half and were unable to mount a full comeback in the 4^th quarter.

Wofford's first SoCon loss sends them to an 8-4 record (4-1 SoCon), while the Catamounts go to 4-10 (2-3 SoCon).

Jackie Carman got the first bucket for Wofford with a spinning jumper and Jamari McDavid went up strong with a layup to tie the game 4-4. McDavid put the Terriers in front with a reverse layup, but as expected, the second game between the two teams was a tight one early with Wofford down 7-6 at the 1^st quarter media timeout. Alexis Tomlin broke a three minute scoring drought with a pair of free-throws and Annabelle Schultz got an unconventional jumper to fall to tie the game at 10. The Catamounts would score at the buzzer to give them a 12-10 lead at the end of one.

Wofford was struggling on the offensive side of the court until Carman made her way inside for a layup. Western Carolina called a timeout with 6:38 left in the half, as they held a 18-12 lead. Lilly Hatton got fouled and hit both from the line, and Carman found McDavid for the lob for an easy two. Carman then ran past her defender for a left-handed lay in for a 6-0 run for the Terriers. Western Carolina was holding on to the lead, but Schultz hit McDavid inside for another layup. Hatton scored her first basket of the game banking off the window, but Wofford trailed at halftime 31-22.

Continuing from the 2^nd quarter, the Catamounts were on a 10-0 run before McDavid made two free-throws. Wofford was unable to get anything else going as the two squads fell into scoreless streaks with 4:35 left. MaryMartha Turner swished a pair out of the timeout and Tomlin drove inside trying to provide the team with a spark. Helen Matthews found herself on the scoresheet with a breakaway layup, but Wofford was still down 45-30. Matthews and Lawren Cook combined for a pair of layups to end the 3^rd quarter, the Terriers still behind 50-38.

Wofford was able to start the 4^th quarter in transition as Turner got fouled and made one from the stripe. Cook then found Tomlin underneath for a layup, cutting the lead to single digits, and Western Carolina called a timeout. Schultz wiggled her way around her man for the bucket and finished off with the free-throw for three points, putting Wofford on a 10-0 run. Schultz saw an elbow jumper that fell to cut the lead to seven with 4:23 to go. The starters checked back in and Carman caused a steal and foul to put herself at the line, knocking down both. Lutz converted on an offensive rebound, and Carman hit a deep 3-pointer, but it was too little too late as the team was unable to complete the comeback.

Jamari McDavid and Jackie Carman both hit double figures today, each scoring 11. Alexis Tomlin had eight point and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action, and Annabelle Schultz had a team-high four steals. Wofford shot 37% from the field, but only 6% from deep.

"We always knew it was going to be tough the second time around. We saw that with ETSU and unfortunately we weren't able to come out on top today", said Associate Head Coach Mike Merrill. "We didn't play well in the first half and trying to come back from that hole hurt us. We played our best in the 4^th quarter, but you can't expect to play good for only one quarter and come away with the win. We will have to play much better next week to come away with a win."

Wofford will remain on the road next week for a clash with UNCG. Thursday's game is scheduled for 7:00 pm, while Saturday will tip off at 2:00 pm.