CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Wofford women's basketball team closed out its regular season in fashion with a historic win over the Chattanooga Mocs. Behind 13 total three-pointers, Lilly Hatton's 25 points and Niyah Lutz's double-double, the Terriers downed the Mocs 84-75 at McKenzie Arena. Wofford concludes the regular season at 16-12 overall and 11-3 in SoCon play. Chattanooga ends with a 7-22 mark, 5-9 in league action.
 
The victory is the first road win for Wofford in the all-time series with Chattanooga, snapping the previous 0-25 mark. With 16 overall wins, this Terrier team is now tied for the fifth-most all-time in program history, matching the 16 victories of the 2001-02 and 2018-19 squads. The result is Wofford's sixth road win of the season, also tying for fifth all-time in program history with three other teams: 1988-89, 2001-02 and 2016-17. With 13 made three-pointers in the contest, the 2021-22 squad has 229 total on the season, which is now a program record, breaking the previous mark of 218 set by the 2019-20 team.
 
"[The players] knew the history coming in here, and I told them I was really happy it was this group that did it," said head coach Jimmy Garrity of the historic road win. "This group had checked off a couple of boxes of things this year that had never been done. It's not a relief for me; it's more just a joy for our current team and our former alumni and former players. I'm just really happy and glad we finished the season on a good note offensively, too."
 
Both teams were shooting well this afternoon, but Wofford posted better marks. The Mocs shot 43.4 percent, 35.5 percent from three. The Terriers totaled a 45.6 percent clip on 31-of-68 overall, but the real damage came from a 13-of-24 tally beyond the arc, good for 54.2 percent. Though Chattanooga won the glass, 36-34, Wofford won the turnover battle with just 11 committed and 16 forced.
 
"That felt really good, and I know it felt good for these guys," said Garrity of the offensive performance. "The last two or three weeks, we've struggled offensively a little bit. Defense has been pretty good, but today to see them knock down shots and get to the free throw line [was great]. I thought Lilly played phenomenal, especially from the offensive end. Niyah was really good shooting the ball, too. Jackie had a good day driving it and shooting it. And Lexx just powered her way on the inside and got some big opportunities and second chance points and rebounds. I'm just really happy for them."
 
Lilly Hatton led the way for Wofford with 25 points, one shy matching her career-high. The junior was 9-of-14 overall and 4-of-5 from three en route to a sixth consecutive game scoring double-digits. The 25-point performance is a season-high for Hatton, and it's the sixth different 20-point game for a Terrier this season.
 
Two other Terriers also scored in double figures: Jackie Carman with 16 and Niyah Lutz with 14. Carman also dished four assists to tie her career-best. Lutz also led the squad with 10 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season, fifth career. She joins Alexis Tomlin (five) as the only Terriers with multiple double-doubles on the season. Lutz was a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range.
 
Reagan Rapert scored seven points and dished seven assists to top the squad and set a new career-high. Alexis Tomlin, Annabelle Schultz and Helen Matthews each totaled six points, and Alea Harris and Abbey Crawford round out the scoring with two apiece.
 
The Terriers opened the game hot by scoring eight-straight points. Jackie Carman tallied the first five, and Reagan Rapert drilled a three to cap the opening run. The Mocs pulled within one point at the 4:23 mark, but a seven-point run helped Wofford pull back away. Helen Matthews converted two-straight scores in the closing minute, and the Terriers led 24-13 after one quarter.
 
With the score 27-16 in favor of Wofford at the 8:16 mark of the second quarter, the Terriers turned it up a notch as each of their next four scores were triples. Lilly Hatton knocked down two in a row, followed by one from Jackie Carman and then Niyah Lutz draining one to finish it off. This left Wofford with a 39-20 advantage with 3:51 to play. The Mocs were hitting threes of their own, but the squads kept pace with one another as Hatton would drill another, and Annabelle Schultz sunk one of her own. Wofford took a 48-35 lead into halftime.
 
As was the theme of the game, the two teams each drained three-balls to begin the second half. The Terriers extended their lead to 17 (59-42) after a pair of threes and a Lilly Hatton layup at 6:42. The teams were trading blows most of the quarter, but Wofford secured the final four points thanks to Jackie Carman and Lilly Hatton to extend its lead to 19 (67-48) entering the fourth quarter.
 
Niyah Lutz secured five-straight points, punctuated by a swished trey, to get Wofford's lead to 21 points at 7:52. Chattanooga kept chipping away, pulling to within 14 points with 4:07 to go. However, the Terriers responded with a six-point run to keep the Mocs at bay. Abbey Crawford put home a layup, followed by a jumper from Helen Matthews and then one from Alea Harris to cap it off. Wofford's lead stood at 20 points with 2:41 remaining. The Mocs then found a groove and rattled off 11 consecutive points to end the game, but the hole was too deep to climb out of with not enough time. Wofford held on and secured the 84-75 road win.
 
"We played five games in 10 days – they're exhausted. They're tired, so this was a game that we really wanted to win for obvious reasons but to [also] feel better about ourselves going into the tournament," said Garrity of the upcoming SoCon Tournament. "We're just going to have to hit the reset button and start back a little bit from scratch. We've talked about the preseason non-conference games and then the conference season, and now we're in the postseason. It's an exciting time. Tournament time is the experience of going there, and it's just unlike anything they're going to experience during the year. So I'm really just excited for them, and I hope we play well. It's obviously going to take our best effort to win."
 
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Terriers will now make their way to Asheville, N.C. for the Southern Conference Tournament. The first round of the tournament begins Thursday, March 3 at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville. Wofford has secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament, its best-ever, and will face off against the No. 7 seeded ETSU Buccaneers in the round one matchup.