SPARTANBURG, S.C. – It was a hard fought first half at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, but the Wofford women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to win their Southern Conference opener over the Western Carolina Catamounts, 72-48, Thursday night. Behind three double-digit scorers, including a double-double from Alexis Tomlin, the Terriers improve to 6-9 on the season and 1-0 in the SoCon. The Catamounts fall to 6-9 as well, 0-1 in league play.
 
"It feels really good," said head coach Jimmy Garrity of opening SoCon play with a win. "Of course, the league is really good. Western is a really good team. I thought the difference tonight was our energy on the defensive end. I give Lexx a lot of credit for building that up, and we just followed her. She was a monster on the boards and in gap help when she needed to be. We were the only game playing tonight, so the whole league was watching. So to play at home against a really good, well-coached team is a big win for us."
 
"It's immense," said Jackie Carman of the confidence built by the victory. "We're the only game today, with COVID issues and stuff like that, so we knew the league was watching. We knew we had to put on, show what Wofford's about in this conference. And I think everyone just kind of got their confidence up in this game, too."
 
Wofford shot 38.2 percent from the field, just a little better than Western Carolina's 37.0 percent. However, the Terriers outpaced the Catamounts significantly beyond the arc, draining 38.5 percent of their triples to just 17.4 percent for the Catamounts. Wofford also outrebounded Western Carolina, 35-30, with the biggest distinction being offensive rebounds, as the Terriers led 11-5. The Terriers sunk 10 three-pointers and totaled 13 assists while limiting turnovers to just nine. Defensively, Wofford forced 16 Catamount turnovers and blocked four shots, a new team game-high.
 
"It was a focus for today," said Garrity of Wofford's rebounding efforts. "We didn't quite hit our goal on that, but we did rebound the ball very well. They only got five offensive rebounds, and they had three in the first quarter. So we played three quarters only giving up two offensive rebounds, and I'll take that every time."
 
"My teammates know that's my favorite thing to do, I love to crash the boards," said Alexis Tomlin of her rebounding performance. "It's my thing, so when you have the opportunity to go in there and just grab every single one, that's what I try to do. So it was awesome."
 
It was a total team effort for the Terriers tonight, but Wofford was paced by three double-digit scorers. Jackie Carman led in scoring for the seventh time in the last nine games with 17 points to post double figures for the eighth time in those nine contests. Carman's lone three-pointer in the game was the 106^th of her career, which ties Jenny Nett for 10^th on Wofford's all-time made threes leaderboard. Alexis Tomlin tallied her third double-double of the season, fifth career, behind 11 points and 13 boards, which ties her career-high. Her three blocks also tie a career-best and set a new single-game high for a Terrier this season. Annabelle Schultz stayed hot, following her double-double performance last Saturday against Erskine with 12 points on four-of-six from three. Two Terriers, Niyah Lutz and Lilly Hatton, just missed double-digits with nine points. Reagan Rapert dished a career-high six assists to lead the team and set a new single-game best for a Terrier this season. She also added four points. Sydnee Richetto drained two threes to secure six points, and Helen Matthews and Abbey Crawford each posted two points to round out the scoring.
 
"It was a total team effort," said Garrity. "We got good players. And on any night, I think anybody could have a big night. And tonight, we had like three of them have big nights. I'll take that every time, too."
 
"It was awesome," said Tomlin of the win and her double-double performance. "I think our guards did a great job of facilitating everything today… It was a great team win. I just wanted to come out here and do everything my teammates needed me to do today, and we got it done."
 
Western Carolina opened the scoring, but Niyah Lutz immediately responded with a triple to put the Terriers in front. The Catamounts bounced back to retake the lead, 6-3, but the Terriers then rattled off a nine-point run. First, Jackie Carman hit a jumper. Lilly Hatton drained a pair of free throws to give Wofford the lead, and she extended that lead with a three-pointer. After an Alexis Tomlin block, Hatton put home the fastbreak score to give Wofford a six-point advantage. The squads traded buckets, and Carman drained a three to put Wofford up by nine. However, the Catamounts secured an eight-point run to pull within one point with just under two minutes left in the quarter. The teams traded blows, and Wofford found some breathing room behind a Carman jumper and Lutz free throw to lead 22-18 after one.
 
Abbey Crawford opened the second frame with a bucket, and after trading free throws, Jackie Carman secured a score to put Wofford up eight. The Catamounts scored, and Alexis Tomlin nullified it with a pair of free throws. After trading layups, the Catamounts scored four-straight points, but Annabelle Schultz nixed any momentum they may have gained by draining a three-pointer before halftime. The Terriers led 35-28 at the break.
 
Showing no quit, Western Caroline came out of the second half swinging by hitting a layup to strike first. But Wofford began to pull away by going on a 12-point run. Lilly Hatton started it off with a layup. Reagan Rapert hit a jumper, and Alexis Tomlin and Jackie Carman put home layups to get the Terrier lead to double-digits. They each scored once more, and Wofford now stood atop by 17 points. A Western Carolina layup and three-pointer before the end of the quarter cut the lead to 12 as the Catamounts attempted to fight back.
 
After trading buckets to begin the fourth quarter, the Terriers put home seven-straight points to ensure the Catamounts would not mount a comeback. After three free throws, Jackie Carman knocked down a jumper, followed by a Niyah Lutz triple to put Wofford up 20. Western Carolina hit a three of their own, but any Catamount hopes it raised were immediately nulled by Annabelle Schultz drilling a trey of her own. She then did it again, and Sydnee Richetto got in on the action with one of her own for good measure. After a Catamount buckets, Richetto drained another three to put the Terriers ahead by 27 points, their largest lead in the contest. Western Carolina scored twice, but Annabelle Schultz hit again from downtown. A Catamount jumper ended the affair, but the Terriers secured the 24-point triumph, 72-48.
 
"It was a great momentum swing for us," said Annabelle Schultz of this win. "For the conference, starting out 1-0 is huge. Just letting the conference know that we're here to play."
 
With Wofford's game against UNC Greensboro originally slated for Saturday, Jan. 6 postponed, the Terriers will be back in action next in one week on Thursday, Jan. 13 with a matchup against rival Furman. Tipoff in Greenville, S.C. against the Paladins is scheduled for 7:00 pm.