MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Wofford women's basketball team left it all on the court at the Murphy Center Thursday night, but ultimately Middle Tennessee was too much to handle as the Terriers fell 86-56 in the first round of the WNIT. With a now 24-7 record (14-4 CUSA), the Lady Raiders advance to the second round. The Terriers finish the season with a 17-14 record and 11-3 in the SoCon.
 
Wofford concluded its historic season with yet another first by making its first-ever appearance in the WNIT for a first-ever postseason appearance at the Division I level.
 
"Tonight didn't turn out quite like we had hoped it would," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "Middle Tennessee State is a really good team, probably the best shooting team that we've faced this year. Give them all the credit. They're big, they can all shoot it. They can play really good defense. At the end of the day, they were just the better team tonight."
 
The Terriers shot 32.1 percent overall and 30.8 percent beyond the arc. The Lady Raiders topped both marks with 49.3 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three. Rebounding was a key difference, with Middle Tennessee securing 49 boards to Wofford's 26. With a 13-3 offensive rebound advantage, the Lady Raiders earned 15 second chance points. They also dominated in the paint with 38 points to just eight for the Terriers.
 
Jackie Carman led the way for Wofford with 13 points, and Alexis Tomlin joined her in double figures with 12. Tomlin also secured eight boards to pace the squad. Lilly Hatton posted nine points and tallied half of Wofford's four blocks by swatting away two. Sydnee Richetto tallied nine points as well. Annabelle Schultz netted five points, and Ja'Rae Smith totaled three. Reagan Rapert and Abbey Crawford each secured two. Rapert dished five assists and swiped two steals to lead the team in both marks. Alea Harris rounded out the scoring with a point. Niyah Lutz totaled three assists and five rebounds.
 
Though Middle Tennessee scored first, Alexis Tomlin immediately responded with a layup to pull Wofford level. The Lady Raiders rattled off 12 consecutive points, though, setting a tone of bunch scoring that would haunt the Terriers all game long. Jackie Carman's free throw ended the run at the 3:35 mark. The Terriers found some life late in the quarter when Sydnee Richetto and Carman dropped back-to-back triples, but a buzzer-beating three by MTSU nixed Wofford's momentum. The Terriers trailed, 24-9.
 
Alexis Tomlin was determined to keep Wofford in it, putting home a jumper to open the second quarter. The Lady Raiders stretched their lead to 20 points at the 6:49 mark, but Lilly Hatton took charge to try to create some momentum. She scored two treys for the Terriers, and even with a Middle Tennessee bucket in between them, Abbey Crawford sank a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 14 with 4:29 to go. After a Middle Tennessee score, a Jackie Carman triple with 2:43 left made it a 13-point game, but Middle Tennessee once again hit one of its own in the final minute to halt Wofford's potential momentum. Terriers trailed 40-24 at the break.
 
Middle Tennessee opened the second half with 11-straight points, with the run broken by a three-point play from Alexis Tomlin. However, Wofford trailed by 24 (51-27) at that 6:45 mark. Wofford would ultimately score the final eight points of the quarter, but too much damage was done throughout, with Middle Tennessee outscoring Wofford 26-14 in the third frame. The Terriers were down 66-38 at the conclusion of the third.
 
Jackie Carman dropped home a three just over a minute into the final quarter, but the Lady Raiders continued to have answers for Wofford's scores. The Terriers got to the charity stripe near the end of the quarter with free throws by Reagan Rapert and Ja'Rae Smith, and Sydnee Richetto netted the final four points of the contest, but it was too little too late. Wofford fell 86-56 to conclude the season.
 
"I told our players that I'm really proud of them for the season that they had, and I was glad that it was this group that accomplished so many firsts for our program," said Garrity. "I'm really happy for our seniors for all the work that they've put in and to accomplish all the things that they have. The winningest class in program history in the Division I era. I'm just really proud of them. And for our returners, we got a good group coming back, and we look forward to working with them in the offseason."
 
Though the 2021-22 season did not finish the way Wofford had hoped, it was still a historic and ground-breaking campaign for the Terriers. Along with Wofford's numerous accomplishments in the season, the '22 senior class finishes with a 61-55 record, the best of any class in the DI era for the Terriers and the first DI class for Wofford with a winning record. Wofford looks to build upon its great season in preparation for the 2022-23 campaign, in which Wofford returns to the court next fall.