SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Behind a career-best performance from sophomore Indiya Clarke and a stout rebounding effort, the Wofford women's basketball team tallied a 60-34 triumph over Emory & Henry at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium Monday night. The Terriers improve to 6-4 on the season, and the Wasps remain 4-3 as the contest was an exhibition for them.
 
"We needed this, and I told them in locker room how much I appreciate them because I know their legs are exhausted," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "It's been four games in eight days, and it's tough. They've battled with some really tough games. I was really proud of the way we finished the game and started the game. Everybody got to play a lot of minutes, which I think was really important."
 
Wofford shot at a 32.9 percent clip with eight made threes while holding E&H to 22.0 percent and three treys. The Terriers won on the glass, 52-40, for their third 50-plus rebound game of the season. With 19 offensive boards, Wofford earned 16 second chance points. Wofford dished 13 assists and swiped a season-high 10 steals with the aid of 18 total turnovers forced.
 
Indiya Clarke led the way for Wofford with 18 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs. This made for her second double-double of the season. Six of Clarke's boards were offensive, and she added in two steals.
 
"It feels really good, especially because I've been challenging myself with rebounds," said Clarke of her stellar night. "So to hit that number on rebounds feels good. And when it comes to the points, I just have teammates that trust me and put confidence into me, and to be able to get the ball and assists from them means a lot."
 
"She was fantastic," said Garrity of Clarke's performance. "That's part of her role, and her points will come if she does her role – guarding then rebounding. The points just come because you get to the free throw line, you get second chance opportunities. And she was tremendous out there. She gave us a great spark, played with a lot of fire and a lot of passion, and we definitely needed that tonight."
 
Freshman Maddie Heiss and junior Rachael Rose each scored 12 points. Heiss added three boards, two assists, a block and a steal. Rose stretched her double-digit scoring streak to 29-straight games, and she contributed six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Freshman Evangelia Paulk tallied 10 rebounds with four points. She added two blocks and steals. Senior Annabelle Schultz and freshman Sara Deidda both tallied six points. Schultz added in three rebounds and a steal. Each dished an assist and knocked down two threes, with Deidda's matching her career high.
 
Senior Ja'Rae Smith rounds out the Wofford scoring with two points. She secured a career-best five rebounds while dishing three assists to tie Rose for the team lead. Freshman Vitolia Tuilave secured six boards with an assist.
 
Emory & Henry scored first after winning the tip, but Maddie Heiss responded nearly immediately with a three-ball. The Wasps then pulled in front 7-4, but Rachael Rose converted a jumper before Heiss swiped the Wasp inbound and put it back in to tie the game, 7-7, at the 5:15 mark. After an E&H three, the Terriers pushed back and pulled in front with an Annabelle Schultz three at the 2:21 mark, 14-12. An Indiya Clarke layup ended the quarter with Wofford on top 16-12.
 
After a back-and-forth first quarter, the second turned out to be anything but. Indiya Clarke opened the second quarter with a score, and Rachael Rose followed with a trey. Rose put one home in the paint after an Evangelia Paulk steal, and Sara Deidda drilled a triple to push Wofford's lead to 26-12 with 6:03 to play. A Wasp bucket at the 5:01 mark ended the Terriers' 17-point run, but Maddie Heiss scored afterward, and the Terrier defense clamped up. E&H was held to just two points in the quarter as Wofford entered the break up 28-14.
 
"I think we just didn't let them have anything easy," said Garrity of the team's second-quarter response to hold E&H to two points. "We did a really good job on the glass rebounding the basketball. We didn't give them second chance opportunities, kept them out of the paint, made them take tough contested shots, so I'm really proud of that second quarter defensive effort."
 
Though the Wasps scored first in the second half, Annabelle Schultz hit back with a swished three, and Sara Deidda added one of her own. The sides traded some points until Evangelia Paulk converted at the free throw line. She then added a layup, and shortly thereafter Indiya Clarke drew a foul on her bucket and converted the three-point play. The seven-point Wofford run ended the quarter, and the Terriers entered the final frame ahead 41-21.
 
Continuing to roll, the Terriers extended that run to 11 points with back-to-back buckets by Indiya Clarke and Rachael Rose in the fourth. After a Wasp score, Clarke converted at the free throw line before Rose connected from deep, and Maddie Heiss put home a three herself not long thereafter. The teams would trade points the rest of the way, but Clarke converted the final score of the game at the free throw line with the outcome already in hand. Wofford concluded its four-game homestand with a 60-34 triumph over Emory & Henry.
 
"It was really important," said Clarke of entering the upcoming break on a high note. "Entering a break on a loss can not be good, so I think we'll be able to enjoy our rest and really just take it for what it is. And we'll be ready for Virginia whenever it comes."
 
The Terriers will now get 11 days between games before kicking off a stretch of three-straight road affairs. Next up and first in that trip is a contest at Virginia on Saturday, December 16. Tip-off against the Cavaliers is set for 1:00 p.m. in Charlottesville, Virginia.