SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Opening Southern Conference play inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, the Wofford women's basketball team utilized an up-tempo pace to race to a 79-55 win over the rival Furman Paladins Thursday night. Wofford improves to 1-0 in SoCon action and to 11-4 overall while Furman drops to 8-8 overall and 0-1 in conference.
 
"I am really proud of our effort," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "Furman is really talented. I thought we did a really good job on the boards – they're top five in the country in rebounding. And I though we really ran in transition. So we rebounded well, really guarded their stuff really well. Our players were locked into the scouting report; they followed the gameplan. Just give them all the credit. They were excited to play. I'm glad we were able to get that first one at home. That's a really big win for our program."
 
The win extends Wofford's home winning streak to nine games, a new program record in the Terriers' Division I era. Wofford has also now won six-straight home games over Furman. The 24-point margin is Wofford's second-largest over Furman behind only a 31-point win in 2018, 79-48. The Terriers have now won their SoCon opener in three consecutive seasons.
 
Wofford shot 46 percent in the contest and knocked down 13 threes at a 40 percent rate. Furman shot 32 percent but was held to only two three-pointers for just 11 percent. Despite the Paladins winning the rebound battle (38-31), the Wofford defense came up big by forcing 20 turnovers for 20 extra points. The Terriers notched seven steals and five blocks.
 
"That was just knowing our scout," said Rachael Rose of the defensive success. "Honestly, we did a great job preparing for this game, and our coaches prepared us really well. And we all locked in and ran our scout well. We got stops when we needed to."
 
Four Terriers reached double-digits while a fifth was just one point shy. Rachael Rose led the way with 16 points. She tied for the team lead in both boards (eight) and assists (seven). Those seven helpers tied her career high and are a new season high for the sophomore.
 
"It's incredible," said Garrity of having four players in double figures. "We have players that can really score the ball. I think tonight we did a really good job of sharing the ball – we had 24 assists, so that part was really good. I'm just really happy for them."
 
Jackie Carman showed why she was named SoCon Player of the Month just hours prior to tip-off with 12 points, extending her double-digit scoring streak to 16 consecutive games to claim sole possession of Wofford's program record, topping the mark previously set by Chloe Wanink. She added five assists, four boards and a steal.
 
"It's amazing," said Carman of the record streak. "And it's with the help of my wonderful teammates, of course. They've been so supportive of me, and I actually was texting Chloe about it earlier today. And to get it on Furman is always great, too."
 
Annabelle Schultz netted 12 points as well by way of four three-pointers. She led the team in steals with three and tied for the assist lead with seven, with that assist total being a new career high. Lilly Hatton was the final Terrier in double figures with 11. She secured eight boards to tie for the team lead while swatting four of Wofford's five blocks to match her career best.
 
Helen Matthews totaled nine points, just missing out on double-digits. She secured four boards and dished an assist. Sydnee Richetto scored seven points with ta rebound, and Indiya Clarke scored six with two boards.
 
Ja'Rae Smith notched four points, and Abbey Crawford scored two to round out the Wofford scoring.
 
Furman scored the first basket of the contest, but Helen Matthews evened it 29 seconds later with a layup, and Lilly Hatton put Wofford ahead with her own layup. A Paladin score tied the contest once more, but Jackie Carman drilled a three-pointer at the 7:52 mark to put Wofford ahead 7-4, a lead that the Terriers would not relinquish. Annabelle Schultz hit a three at the 5:12 mark, and though Furman responded with a paint score, the Terriers then embarked on a 10-point run. Rachael Rose sparked it with a jumper and bookended it with another at the 1:11 mark. Furman would score in the closing seconds, however, to make the score 24-12 entering the second quarter.
 
Sydnee Richetto was on fire to open the second quarter by scoring Wofford's first five point, punctuated by a trey. Rachael Rose hit one of her own a few minutes later to extend Wofford's lead to 22 points (36-14) at the 6:06 mark. The Paladins would score the final six points of the half, though, cutting the margin to 17 points with a 41-24 score entering the break.
 
Furman opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, but Rachael Rose nixed that potential momentum swing with her own triple just 18 seconds later. The squads traded some blows before Jackie Carman and Annabelle Schultz popped back-to-back threes, kicking off a 15-point swing for the Terriers. Schultz followed her trey up with another one a minute later, and then multiple Terriers went inside to convert layups for a 61-31 Wofford lead by the 2:27 mark. Entering the fourth, the score stood at 63-33.
 
Furman went on a nine-point run early in the fourth, but Annabelle Schultz hit again from distance to curb that swing with Wofford leading 69-44 with 5:47 remaining. The Paladins would score some points down the stretch, but Indiya Clarke put home two treys of her own, sandwiching an Abbey Crawford bucket to keep Wofford's lead over 20. Furman's deficit was too much to overcome, and the Terriers claimed the 24-point SoCon opening win, 79-55, over the Paladins.
 
"It's super special," said senior Lilly Hatton of the win in her and Jackie Carman's final home game against the Paladins. "This team is special, and this coaching staff is special. Rivalries are really fun, and we're really glad we have the rivalry with Furman. It gives each game a little bit more emphasis. It's a little tougher, and you always know they're going to come out with a fight. Credit to them – they have great players and a great coaching staff, but I think we came out today and played a little bit harder and executed our stuff better."
 
Wofford will get a week off before hitting the road for its first road conference tests. The Terriers will travel to Cullowhee, N.C. to battle Western Carolina on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m. before traveling to UNCG two days later.