GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford women's lacrosse team competed hard in its inaugural Big South conference-opener on Wednesday night, storming back from a six-goal halftime deficit to come within three early in the fourth, though, the Paladins ultimately pulled away for a 20-11 decision at Paladin Stadium. Ally Furnari and Emma Gentile paced the Terriers with four points apiece, as Wofford drops to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in the Big South.
 
Senior Ally Furnari paced the Terriers with a season and team-high four goals, while junior Emma Gentile matched a career-high with three goals, in addition to an assist. Junior Olivia Abé dished two assists to pair with a goal to round out Wofford's top performers on the evening.
 
Emma Krasinski poured in two goals, along with three draw controls, two caused turnovers and ground balls each, while Leah Hurley and Elisabeth Ralph recorded an assist and goal, respectively. Hurley added a caused turnover, while Ralph also added a caused turnover and draw control. Shannon Wulff added an assist.
 
Moira Carroll led the way with a team-high four draw controls to pair with four ground balls and a caused turnover, while Emma Seif added four ground balls and two caused turnovers defensively. Addison Witkowski matched a season-high three draw controls.
 
Ella Smithers matched a career-high seven saves in goal, while Aislinn Washburn received the loss with a save.
 
The Paladins outshot Wofford 38-27 for the match, though, the Terriers bested Furman in the third with a 10-8 shot advantage that led to a 6-4 edge in goals in the frame that pioneered the brief comeback.
 
After trailing 10-4 after the first 30 minutes of action, goals from Emma Gentile, Leah Hurley and Ally Furnari traded scores with the Paladins through the first 11 minutes of action to see a 14-7 margin with 4:21 remaining in the third frame. From there, the Terriers gained a second wind, rattling off a three-goal spurt to close the third quarter trailing by just four, 14-10.
 
After an Anna Roser score for the Paladins (14-7), Gentile found Ally Furnari for her fourth goal of the evening to spark the run at the 2:54 mark, 14-8. Olivia Abé then dished to Emma Krasinski for a consecutive goal (14-9), as Gentile would capitalize on a free-position opportunity with 13 seconds left to rifle a shot past the goalie to trim the deficit to 14-10 by the end of the quarter.
 
The Terriers rolled the momentum into the fourth, opening with a Krasinski goal off the find from Abé to come within three, 14-11, with 14:28 remaining. After holding the Paladins scoreless for nearly seven minutes of action, Furman broke the drought shortly after (15-11) and wouldn't look back, recording six unanswered goals to deny the comeback bid and pull away over the final 12 minutes for the final 20-11 result.
 
Wofford (2-6, 0-1 Big South) returns back to Spartanburg, hosting High Point at Gibbs Stadium on Saturday, April 2. Opening draw is slated for a 1 p.m. start to be broadcast on ESPN+.