SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Behind a strong rebounding effort highlighted by 16 offensive rebounds, the Wofford women's basketball team returned to the win column with a 65-42 win over Southern Wesleyan Monday night inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Wofford improves to 4-3 with the win, and SWU remains 2-3 as the contest was officially an exhibition for the Division II Warriors.
 
Wofford won the rebounding battle 54-30 with the biggest advantage coming on the offensive glass. The Terriers tallied 16 offensive boards, which led to 16 second chance points. The Warriors were held to just six offensive rebounds for five second chance points. Wofford shot 37.7 percent on the night with six three-pointers made. The Terrier defense held SWU to a 25.0 percent shooting clip and three triples. Despite committing more turnovers, 14-10, Wofford recorded more points off turnovers with 17 from Warrior miscues while holding SWU to just nine points from giveaways.
 
"We talked about that, and then we re-emphasized it because at the end of the first quarter we only had one," said head coach Jimmy Garrity of the offensive rebounding. "So in the remaining three quarters we got 15, which was really important. We thought that was an advantage that we had to get second chance opportunities. To do that you've got to really go to the offensive glass, and I thought we did a really good job of that. And we did a good job of just limiting them to one shot."
 
"We've been really stressing [rebounding] in practice," added Rachael Rose of the success on the boards. "The importance of rebounding and using our speed to get around people and having high basketball IQ, knowing where the ball's going to be. It just takes heart, and I think this team has a lot of it."
 
Wofford was led by a trio in double-digits. Freshman Maddie Heiss topped the squad with 18 points. She matched her career high with four rebounds while adding two assists, a block and a steal. Junior Rachael Rose contributed 13 points with 10 boards, her ninth-career double-double and first of the season. She added an assist and two steals. Freshman Evangelia Paulk also gathered a double-double, her third, with her 11 points and 10 rebounds while adding a pair of steals. Paulk becomes the first Wofford freshman with three double-doubles since Mahagony Williams had three in her 2007-08 SoCon Freshman of the Year campaign.
 
"We try to include a lot of movement," said Heiss of the team's offensive success. "With us putting up a lot of shots, we all work on it outside of practice, so we're able to score the ball pretty well from that."
 
Freshman Vitolia Tuilave added seven points and eight boards, seven of which were offensive. She also notched three blocks for a second-straight game. Freshman Sara Deidda tallied a career-best eight points with two boards and an assist. Senior Annabelle Schultz had five points and four rebounds with a steal. Sophomore Indiya Clarke rounds out the Wofford scorers with three points alongside a block and an assist with seven boards. Senior Ja'Rae Smith added in three rebounds and three assists.
 
Wofford opened the contest with the first 10 points. Maddie Heiss opened the scoring with a jumper before Rachael Rose sank a pair of free throws. Heiss and Annabelle Schultz then converted back-to-back three-pointers. Southern Wesleyan got its first points at the 1:49 mark with a layup, but Vitolia Tuilave's layup in the closing seconds gave Wofford a 14-7 advantage after a quarter.
 
The teams traded some points to open the second quarter before Wofford went on an eight-point run. Half of the scoring came at the free throw line with Rachael Rose and Evangelia Paulk converting layups for the other half. Wofford's lead was 24-11 at the 7:40 mark. After trading a couple blows, Paulk drove home a layup before Maddie Heiss added a jumper of her own, and despite some Warrior points, the Terriers added three more from the charity stripe to lead 32-21 at halftime.
 
The Terriers were firing on all cylinders out of the break, tallying the first 13 points of the half. Maddie Heiss converted the first four before Rachael Rose was fouled on her layup for a three-point play. Rose added another score before Vitolia Tuilave capped the run with Wofford up by 24 points (45-21) at the 4:15 mark. The Warriors scored their first points of the half with 3:49 on the clock, but Heiss responded quickly with a three-pointer on the following possession. Sara Deidda punctuated the quarter with a trey in the final 10 seconds to make Wofford's lead 53-28 entering the final frame.
 
The Warriors scored first with a jumper in the fourth, but Maddie Heiss and Sara Deidda scored back-to-back buckets. SWU went on a seven-point run from there, but Deidda broke it with another three-ball at the 3:31 mark for a 60-37 Wofford lead. The sides traded blows from there, but the score margin was already too wide. Wofford claimed the win, 65-42, on its home court.
 
The Terriers continue their four-game homestand Wednesday night against UNC Asheville. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
 
"They're all really big," said Garrity of the homestand. "We've got a quick turnaround with UNC Asheville on Wednesday. They're really good and athletic, and it's going to be a really good game. It's going to take our best effort to win."