MACON, Ga. – The Wofford women's basketball team had never beaten Mercer in Macon until tonight, as the Terriers earned a historic 76-71 win over the Bears Thursday night in Hawkins Arena. Wofford improves to 14-6 (4-2 SoCon) with the result while Mercer drops to 7-12 (3-3 SoCon).
 
Mercer was the last remaining team in the Southern Conference against which Wofford had never earned a road victory, as the win breaks the previous 0-10 streak in Hawkins Arena. The victory is the sixth on the road for the Terriers this season, the third most in program history in a season. The six road wins also tie for the most in Wofford's Division I era, a mark that has been set three times prior since the 1995 transition upward.
 
"They're such a good team, well-coached, so talented," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "They can score in every way. They guard you really hard. We've been close down here before, but this team had the desire to come in here, play well, play tough, be aggressive and in attack mode. I though down the stretch, our defense the last minute-and-a-half, those three possessions were just huge… And then we made enough plays down the stretch. Great team win."
 
"I think we wanted to set a standard of who we want to be the rest of the season," added sophomore guard Rachael Rose. "And all coming back to the seniors, they haven't won here yet, so we just wanted to make sure they went out with a bang."
 
The Terriers shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) in the contest and 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from three. Mercer topped both marks at 45.0 percent (27-of-60) and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) while also outrebounding Wofford 42-30. But the key for the Terriers was the turnover battle, which saw Wofford force 17 turnovers while committing only seven. This led to a points off turnover margin of 23-10.
 
"That's the game," said Garrity of the turnover battle. "And that's been our formula all year long, to take care of the ball. And I think if you ask these guys, they're going to tell you that number should have been at five or less. But to take care of the ball – seven turnovers – against a scrappy team that guards you hard, doesn't let you catch it very easily on the wing – just a tremendous job by everybody."
 
The game was close at the half, with Wofford trailing by seven points (38-31). But the Terriers showed tremendous resolve and heart, outscoring Mercer 23-14 in the third quarter and 45-33 in the second half. The win is just Wofford's third when trailing at halftime this season.
 
"I think they just came out of the locker room with a lot of confidence," said Garrity. "We had a good start in the third quarter. And in the fourth quarter, we had the lead, gave it up and got it right back. But this is a senior-led team with Jackie [Carman] and Lilly [Hatton]. They weren't going to be denied. And down the stretch, we didn't make mistakes."
 
"I think we looked back on the things we hadn't done well in the first half and just made it our focus to come out with intensity to fix all of those," added junior guard Helen Matthews.
 
Five Terriers scored in double figures, a first for the campaign. Helen Matthews led the way with 21 points, a season high, on 8-of-14 shooting. The mark is just her second-career 20-point outing. She added three rebounds and two assists alongside the game-sealing block.
 
"It was just fun," said Matthews of her impressive outing. "I've been putting in a lot of work. And being able to feed off of my teammates and put some points on the board for us felt really good."
 
Rachael Rose posted 15 points and 10 boards, her fourth double-double of the season. She led the team in rebounding and in assists with four while also swiping a steal.
 
"I think I wasn't doing my best offensively tonight, scoring-wise, so I knew I could control rebounding," said Rose of her performance. "And that's all heart, and I just wanted to help my team out in any way I could."
 
Jackie Carman and Annabelle Schultz each contributed 13 points. Carman added a board and a pair of assists. Schultz secured two rebounds and dished two assists while swiping a team-leading three steals.
 
Lilly Hatton rounds out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. She added seven rebounds and a block. Ja'Rae Smith scored the only other points for Wofford with two, and Indiya Clarke made her first-career start in the contest.
 
The squads were trading blows right out of the gate, setting a tone for the affair that featured five ties and eight lead changes. Annabelle Schultz got Wofford on the board first by popping a three, and then she hit another after a Mercer score. Schultz would notch the first eight points for the Terriers, and Rachael Rose was the first non-Schultz Terrier to score with a bucket at the 3:21 mark. But Mercer held a 16-10 lead at that point, and the Bears would retain a 20-14 advantage after a quarter.
 
Back-to-back threes by Rachael Rose and Jackie Carman pulled Wofford to within three points (23-20) at the 6:42 mark in the second. The two sides would keep throwing punches, with a Helen Matthews trey keeping the margin at three with 4:48 left. But two Bear free throws would spark an 8-2 Mercer run that saw the Bears claim their largest lead of the night at nine right before the final minute of the half. Matthews put down a paint score in the final 30 seconds, making the halftime score 38-31 in favor of Mercer.
 
Though the Bears scored first out of the break with a free throw, Helen Matthews capitalized on a Lilly Hatton block to knock down a trey for Wofford's first points of the half. She followed suit with two paint scores, single-handedly going on a seven-point run to pull the Terriers within a point (39-38) with 6:36 left. The Bears put home a jumper, but Jackie Carman tied the affair with a three-ball. Rachael Rose put Wofford ahead at the charity stripe by converting a pair of foul shots, but seconds later a Bear three flipped the lead again. The lead changed hands twice more over the span of 30 seconds before Rose and Carman combined to put Wofford in front again (49-47) with 2:03 to go in the third. Matthews scored five points in a row late, but a three at the buzzer kept Mercer close, 54-52, entering the final frame.
 
Lilly Hatton opened Wofford's fourth quarter with a layup and a trey. Annabelle Schultz would shortly thereafter convert a jumper and a pair of free throws for Wofford's largest lead of the night at nine points (63-54) with 6:53 remaining. But a pair of Mercer threes kept the Bears in striking distance, and after a Helen Matthews score they went on a nine-point run to take the lead at 69-65 with 2:49 to go. But the Terriers showed no quit, as Hatton drained a triple before Jackie Carman did the same to put Wofford in front. Mercer evened the game with a bucket, but Rachael Rose went inside for a clutch score to give Wofford a 73-71 lead with 56 seconds to go. Mercer would put up a missed shot, and Rachael Rose was sent to the line. She converted one of the two shots, and Mercer geared up for a final go with 19 seconds remaining.
 
With 10 seconds left, the Bears lined up their three-point effort to tie the contest, but Helen Matthews had ice in her veins. She got her hand on the ball and notched the game-winning block. Rose was there to snag the rebound, sealing the game. Wofford completed the comeback, winning 76-71 in a gutsy and historic fashion.
 
Wofford remains on the road, traveling to Birmingham, Ala. this Saturday for a match-up with Samford. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m. ET against the Bulldogs.