CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team was in total control at the Liston B. Ramsey Center Saturday afternoon to down Western Carolina 71-49. Behind three double-digit performers, including a career-high 23 from Helen Matthews, the Terriers improve to 12-10 and 7-1 in SoCon play. The Catamounts fall to 6-17, 0-9 in league action.
 
Wofford extends its best-ever league start with the win, guaranteeing a third-straight season with at least a .500 SoCon record. The now four-game winning streak ties the longest for the Terriers this season, the first of which lasted from Jan. 1-20. Wofford earns the season series sweep over Western Carolina for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
 
"I'm really happy for our players," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "We just had the right mindset. Winning on the road is never easy. This is a tough place to play. Historically, we haven't done very well here. They came in here with the right mindset, feeling very confident about their game. I thought we did a really good job. To win on the road, you've got to take care of the ball, and I thought we did a really good job taking care of the ball. We created some turnovers, which led to some easy transition points."
 
Wofford won every quarter en route to its dominant triumph. The Terriers shot 45.5 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from three-point range. The Catamounts were held to 37.2 percent overall, 31.3 percent from three. Though Western Carolina won the boards, 37-29, Wofford earned its biggest advantage through the turnover battle. Wofford committed just seven turnovers while forcing 23 from the Catamounts. This led to 25 extra points for the Terriers and 12 via the fast break on 13 steals. Wofford also dominated the paint, 42 to just 16 for Western Carolina.
 
"You're always going to have a chance to be in the game," added Garrity on the turnover battle. "On the road, if you turn the ball over and get their crowd into it, it's kind of deflating. For us to reverse that, to really take care of the ball – we shared the ball well, 15 assists to seven turnovers, it gives us really good confidence when we're out on the court."
 
Helen Matthews was lights out, shooting 71.4 percent on 10-of-14. The sophomore also hit half of her three-point attempts, knocking down 3-of-6. Her 10 field goals and three triples are both career-bests. This all led to a new career-high 23 points for the Kaiapoi, New Zealand native. She had already tied her previous career-high mark with 16 points at halftime. Matthews added three boards, two assists, two steals and a block.
 
"It feels really great" said Matthews of her career-high marks. "All of my teammates and coaches at practice telling me to shoot the ball gave me the confidence I need, so it felt good to go out and do it tonight."
 
"Oh, she's playing really good," said Garrity of Matthews' performance. "We talked a little bit coming up here, and I asked her how she was doing. And she said, 'I'm great, man. I'm better than great.' So it really showed out there on the court."
 
Two other Terriers scored in double figures: Jackie Carman with 14 and Niyah Lutz with 11. The pair tied for the team lead with four steals each. This ties the season-high mark for Lutz and sets a new career-best for Carman. Lutz also contributed four assists to top the team.
 
Alexis Tomlin led with six boards and two blocks. She added five points. Abbey Crawford posted six points in eight minutes of action off the bench with three boards. Lilly Hatton tallied five points with four rebounds. Reagan Rapert also added five points with three assists. Sydnee Richetto rounds out the scoring with two points.
 
The Catamounts opened the scoring with an immediate three-ball, but Lilly Hatton responded with a jumper. Jackie Carman would sink a triple of her own to tie the occasion at five apiece. The back-and-forth affair continued when Western Carolina retook the lead, but Niyah Lutz put home back-to-back buckets to get Wofford back in front at the 5:18 mark. It was a lead that would last. Carman would nail another trey, and Helen Matthews would secure a basket to pull the Terrier lead out to six, but the Catamounts continued to keep it close early, pulling within three points with 2:33 left. A six-point run to end the quarter would extend the Wofford lead to nine points, punctuated by two consecutive scores from Matthews.
 
Though the Catamounts opened the second frame with a trey, Helen Matthews immediately drilled one of her own to nix any momentum it may have created. Niyah Lutz splashed a triple herself to extend the Terrier lead to 10 points at the 7:00 mark. This three-ball sparked an 11-point run for Wofford that would last almost the rest of the quarter. The run saw Matthews knock down a triple, and it concluded with a Jackie Carman free throw at 1:31 with Wofford then up 18 points. The half concluded with the Terriers holding a 39-23 lead.
 
The squads traded some blows in the first two minutes out of the break, but scores from Niyah Lutz and Reagan Rapert helped Wofford pull further away at the 6:41 mark. Western Carolina then went on a 9-4 run, but any hopes of mounting a comeback were slashed when Jackie Carman drained a three-pointer with 1:27 remaining. Helen Matthews scored in the closing seconds of the quarter to put Wofford up by 18, 54-36.
 
The Terriers opened the final quarter with the first six points, with Helen Matthews securing five of them via a triple and layup. The Catamounts would get the lead under 20 with 5:22 left, but it was too little too late for Western Carolina as Reagan Rapert knocked down a trey at the 4:05 mark to put the margin at 22 points and effectively erase any remaining hopes of an improbable comeback. The teams would even each other out the rest of the way on scores, and the game concluded with Wofford on top, 71-49.
 
"We feel really good," said Matthews. "We know coming on the road, in the big games, we need to win. So we just look to the next one, and we hope to keep it going."
 
The Terriers get a week off before returning to their home court of Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 12. Wofford plays host to the rival Furman Paladins at 2:00 p.m. to begin a slate of four-straight home games.