SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Behind 50 percent shooting and 14 forced turnovers, the Wofford women's basketball team extended its win streak to five with a 72-51 win inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in the return of Education Day. Four Terriers scored in double figures with Rachael Rose's 27 leading the way as Wofford improved to 5-2 on the season. Davidson dropped to 2-6 with the result.
 
"Education Day is wonderful. We love having our local elementary and middle schools here," said senior forward Lilly Hatton on the return on Education Day. "We love seeing the kids. They were cheering so loud. We hope they come back to more games because we win when they're here."
 
Education Day brought out students from multiple local schools, and the Terriers played in front of an energetic crowd that was 452 strong, the most of the three home games so far.
 
"I can't remember the last time – it's probably been about four years since we've had that," said head coach Jimmy Garrity on the return of Education Day. "And to have the kids that came, they were fantastic. They had a blast. They helped us win with the energy that they created. And I'm sure they had a really good time watching our players play."
 
The five-game win streak is Wofford's longest since winning five straight last season from Jan. 27 to Feb. 12. Wofford is now a win away from matching its Division I record of six in a row, accomplished twice before in the 2007-08 season and the 2011-12 campaign. At 5-2, this is the best start to a season through seven games for the Terriers since opening the 2011-12 campaign at 6-1.
 
"Five-game winning streak is really nice," said Garrity of the recent run. "I don't know what the record is or anything like that, but we've played well. Some of those were on the road – two of them, and then coming home for the last two. And we've got two more at home, but it's all about confidence. And at the end of the day, we've got to play really well at both ends. We've got to take care of the ball, which we did today. We've got to rebound, and hopefully we can score it fairly well, and we did that today."
 
After a couple of down shooting nights, Wofford bounced back today to shoot 50.9 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three.
 
"We've got a roster full of really good shooters," said Garrity of the shooting efforts. "That's been consistent that we've been able to score the ball, and to get off to a really good start, and for the game we shot 50 percent, [that's] really good. I credit our players for putting in the work outside of practice, and I know coming into today's game I thought we would play well. They were ready. You could tell yesterday they were ready."
 
"We just kept telling ourselves to shoot with confidence," added sophomore guard Rachael Rose of the offensive efforts. "There's going to be days when you don't shoot well, but luckily today we were able to shoot. We've been able to get in the gym, get extra shots up, and it was just a really good day for everybody all around."
 
The Terrier defense came up big as well, holding Davidson to 35.8 percent and 21.4 percent from three. The Terriers forced 14 Wildcat turnovers, which turned into 11 extra points and six via the fast break. Meanwhile Wofford did not surrender a fast break score and stayed clean, committing only 10 giveaways.
 
"I thought our defensive effort was just off the charts good," said Garrity of the Terrier defense. "We played really well. And we talked about just playing basketball and don't worry so much about schemes because we do that on offense really well. We haven't taken that step defensively, and I thought that today, defensively, we just played and made some really good decisions."
 
Once again, the Terriers utilized balanced scoring with four in double figures. Rachael Rose was the top dog, leading all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and 3-of-4 from three and a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe. Her 10 made buckets tied her career high, and the sophomore was two points shy of tying her career scoring mark, but the 27 points were the most in her Wofford career and by a Terrier this season. Rose added five boards, a steal and an assist.
 
"We just wanted to get the win as a team, and my teammates set me up in great positions as they always do, and Lilly [Hatton] set me some great ball screens to be able to get downhill and get to the basket," said Rose of her performance. "But [to win] in this environment against a really good team is huge for us."
 
Helen Matthews continued her hot streak with 12 points, her third double-digit outing in the last four games. She added five rebounds to tie for the team lead. Jackie Carman posted 11 points and led the Terriers with two assists.
 
Lilly Hatton returned to the floor after missing a pair of games due to injury, and she did not miss a beat with 11 points. She added two boars and led the team with two steals.
 
"It was great to be playing with my teammates," said Hatton on her return to play. "I love cheering them on, but of course we all want to be on the court; we all want to be contributing. So it felt great to be back in and back in rhythm.
 
"We have a great athletic training staff that does everything to make sure that the second you step back onto the court, you're prepared. You're not going to come out here if you're not ready to give it your all."
 
Indiya Clarke also tied with Rose and Matthews for the rebounding lead with five, and she scored four points. Annabelle Schultz contributed three points, four boards, an assist and a steal. Ja'Rae Smith and Sydnee Richetto each notched two points to round out the Terrier scorers.
 
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle, as Rachael Rose scored the game's first points on a layup off a steal, but Davidson immediately responded with their own layup. The Wildcats took the lead at the 5:30 mark and held it until the 1:30 mark when Helen Matthews tied the contest with a pair of free throws. Sydnee Richetto put Wofford back in front before a Davidson jumper tied it again, but in the final seconds Lilly Hatton swiped the ball, allowing Matthews to score for a 20-18 Terrier lead after one.
 
Despite the first quarter being Wofford's worst thus far in the campaign, the Terriers posted a season-best 52.9 percent shooting clip to set an early tone with a new season-high 20 first-quarter points.
 
The Wildcats kept it close early in the second, pulling within three (24-21) at the 7:26 mark. But then Rachael Rose popped a three, sparking a nine-point run for the Terriers and a double-digit lead (33-21) with 3:50 remaining. Wofford kept riding the momentum, and in the closing seconds Annabelle Schultz secured a steal for Ja'Rae Smith to hit the buzzer-beating shot for a 40-25 halftime Wofford lead.
 
Davidson tried to make a comeback in the third, but Wofford was keeping pace. The Wildcats pulled to within 12 points on three different occasions in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter, but each time a Terrier scored to keep the distance. The Wildcats got the final say with a three-pointer in the final 30 seconds of the quarter, but Wofford's lead still stood at 55-43 entering the final frame.
 
Wofford opened the final quarter with a six-point run to extend the lead to 18 (61-43), and though the Wildcats netted a pair of free throws, the Terriers responded with a Jackie Carman trey and Rachael Rose charity-stripe conversion to push the lead over 20 at 66-45 with 5:22 left. Davidson could not regain its footing, and the Terriers pulled away with Annabelle Schultz hitting the dagger three-ball at 1:04 to ice the contest for Wofford's 72-51 triumph.
 
After the Education Day triumph, Wofford continues its four-game homestand on Saturday, Dec. 3 by hosting App State. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.