SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team returned to the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium after two weeks on the road in emphatic fashion, downing the Chattanooga Mocs 76-53. Behind four double-digits scorers, the Terriers improved to 9-10 on the season and 4-1 in SoCon action. The Mocs drop to 6-15, 4-2 in league play.
 
The 23-point margin ties Wofford's largest victory in the series, the previous instance occurring in the previous matchup between the teams. That game saw the Terriers win 67-44 on Feb. 6, 2021, also in Spartanburg.
 
"Chatt's a really good team, well-coached," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "They got really good players. I just though our defensive effort, especially in that first half, was as good as I've seen it. Our offense just fed off of that, too. I know we shot the ball pretty well, and when we can score it, we're pretty good."
 
The Wofford crowd was out in full force to support the Terriers tonight, as the game featured the season's highest attendance yet of 504, topping the previous mark of 433 set on Nov. 19 against Southern Wesleyan.
 
"Shout out to our crowd, especially our students," said Garrity of the Terrier fans. "They came in full force. They were loud. That energy that they create really helps our squad. It just gets us going, feeling good."
 
"We love Wofford. We love playing at home," added junior Lilly Hatton. "Those are a lot of our friends, our classmates. We're in interim right now, so I know everyone's kind of made some new friends in class, and we saw a lot of them out here tonight. We're really thankful."
 
"The fans, they really showed up tonight," said sophomore Annabelle Schultz, "which we really appreciated. We tried to spread the word about the game, and for them to come out and support us the way they did was huge. And we thank them so much for doing that. It really helps during the game to have the fans on your side."
 
The Terriers dominated, leading for a total of 37:58 and never trailing. Wofford shot at a 45.3 percent clip on 29-of-64 from the field, topping Chattanooga's 29.4 percent mark on just 15-of-51. From three, Wofford was 36.7 percent on 11-of-30, holding the Mocs to just 15.0 percent on 3-of-20. Chattanooga scored 20 points from the free throw line, so the Terriers held the Mocs to just 33 points from the field. Wofford also won the glass, securing 42 boards to 27 for Chattanooga. 11 of those were offensive for Wofford, while the Mocs only procured three offensive rebounds. The Terriers forced 13 turnovers, leading to 14 extra points. Wofford's five blocks are a new game-high.
 
"The boards was a big deal, right? And they're a really good rebounding team," said Garrity. "We held [Abbey] Cornelius on the boards pretty good, and she's a really good player. 42 rebounds to their 27 – I think that was pretty good. We had 11 offensive rebounds, too, so second chance points. And I thought in transition, we got out and ran. But to do that, you've got to get stops, and we pretty much just allowed them one shot and then were able to run in transition."
 
Annabelle Schultz led the way with 12 points, all from three-point range. The sophomore caught fire, shooting at a 4-of-8 clip, every shot coming from downtown. She added a block and two boards. Lilly Hatton was one rebound shy of a double-double, pulling down nine to top the squad and adding 11 points. She was a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Sydnee Richetto also tallied 11 points on a perfect shooting night. The freshman was 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Jackie Carman returned to double figures for the first time since the Western Carolina game, dropping 10 points with four boards. Niyah Lutz was just shy of double-digits with nine points, adding six boards. Reagan Rapert put forth a balanced effort, tallying six points and a career-high-tying six assists, which led the team. She contributed five rebounds and two steals as well. Alexis Tomlin also scored six points, adding three boards. Helen Matthews put forth four points and six boards with three assists. She added a steal and two blocks, a new career-high. Abbey Crawford dropped four points as well, and Alea Harris rounded out the scoring with three points, also adding three boards, three assists and a block.
 
"It's the confidence that my teammates give me, that my coaches give me all throughout practice leading up to the game this week," said Schultz of her performance. "I felt good during practice, so to go out there and knock them down in the game was huge for me."
 
"We are at a point in our season where we are rolling," said Hatton. "The chemistry has been really great on the court and off the court. Furthermore, once you get into conference, the scout is really important. And we know these opponents, we play them every year. Our coaches do a great job preparing us, and I think you can really see that on gameday, how prepared we are for the other team's offense."
 
 Lilly Hatton opened the scoring with a triple to set the tone early. Chattanooga would battle back to tie the contest at three apiece at the 6:30 mark, Reagan Rapert immediately drained a trey to put Wofford back up, this time for good. The Mocs kept things close at first, though, as the Terrier lead only stood at 10-7 with three minutes remaining. The Terriers then got hot, with Sydnee Richetto dropping home a jumper to spark a seven-point run to end the quarter. Annabelle Schultz capped it off with the first of her three-pointers to put Wofford in front 17-7.
 
Wofford kept its foot on the gas, extending the run to 17 points with a hot start to the second quarter. Annabelle Schultz hit a second consecutive triple to begin the frame, and Alexis Tomlin followed with a layup. Jackie Carman then got involved, drilling a triple and swishing a layup to cap off the run. Wofford's lead stood at 20 points with 5:56 to go. The Mocs got a jumper, but a Reagan Rapert bucket sparked another Terrier run, this one only eight points. It did see Alea Harris swish a three-pointer, and Carman's free throw put the Wofford lead at 26 points with 3:42 to play. Chattanooga cut into the deficit with a five-point run of its own, but Schultz swished from distance yet again to curtail the Moc momentum. Chattanooga would sink a pair of three throws, but Lilly Hatton's layup offset them to give Wofford a 40-16 halftime advantage.
 
Jackie Carman started off the third quarter with a jumper, but the Mocs responded with a nine-point run to pull within 17 points. Sensing the momentum swing, a Terrier timeout at the 7:38 mark slowed things down. Wofford then picked it back up as Helen Matthews drove home a layup. Scores by Reagan Rapert, Niyah Lutz and Jackie Carman would make up that lost ground. The Mocs got a pair of free throws with 2:03 remaining, but Sydnee Richetto stepped up and drilled a triple to keep the lead big. Annabelle Schultz would close the quarter with another three-pointer, this one at the buzzer, to give the Terriers a daunting 57-31 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Chattanooga scored the frame's first six points, but Wofford kept the Mocs and their comeback hopes at bay by matching runs. Lilly Hatton swished a layup, followed by a Niyah Lutz and one play. The squads traded a few blows, and the Terrier lead stood at 26 after Sydnee Richetto drained another triple with 4:16 remaining. The Mocs would sink one of their own, and they eventually cut the lead down to 18 with 1:35 left. But it was too little too late, as Richetto was money again from distance, and Abbey Crawford's layup was the final page of the story. Wofford dominated in a 76-53 victory.
 
"We have a veteran team, so they're not going to let it slip," said Garrity of the upcoming conference slate. "They know the importance of the game on Saturday. So we're going to come tomorrow, we're going to prepare. It's a quick turnaround. East Tennessee State's got some talented players that are very athletic, so it's going to take our best effort to win."
 
Wofford remains at home on Saturday, Jan. 29 to welcome East Tennessee State to town. The matchup with the Buccaneers is schedule to tipoff at 2:00 p.m. and will be the first game of a doubleheader with the men's basketball team, who plays UNC Greensboro at 7:00 p.m. The Terriers then hit the road again for a Tar Heel State swing, facing off against UNCG on Thursday, Feb. 3 and then Western Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 5.