SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team was locked in a back-and-forth battle with the Samford Bulldogs inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium Thursday night until Wofford clicked, embarking on a 23-point run to race to an 86-60 win. The Terriers improve to 19-8 (9-4 SoCon) with the victory, and the Bulldogs drop to 13-15 (7-6 SoCon).
 
The win is Wofford's 19^th of the season, extending the team's D-I program record. It was the 10^th home win for the Terriers, giving them back-to-back seasons with double-digit home triumphs.
 
Wofford shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) in the contest and knocked down 11-of-26 from three (42.3 percent) while holding Samford to 39.6 percent (21-of-53) overall and 25.9 percent from distance (7-of-27). The charity stripe was huge, as Wofford converted 11-of-12 free shots while Samford hit only half of its free throws, 11-of-22.
 
"It was defense; it all started on defense," said Jackie Carman of the key to creating the offense. "All those deflections and steals that you saw, and then it leads to the assists and transition. We just knew that we had to buckle down and really take the initiative on the defensive end."
 
The turnover battle proved crucial, as Wofford kept things clean at nine giveaways, the 13^th game this season with single-digit turnovers. The Terrier defense forced 17 Bulldog turnovers, which turned into 31 extra points. Eleven of Samford's turnovers came in the second half, nine of which were committed in the fourth quarter alone.
 
"We did a really good job," said head coach Jimmy Garrity of the turnover margin. "We did a really good job of getting deflections, too. We rebounded the ball fairly well. [Annabelle Schultz] did a fantastic job – she had nine rebounds, almost got to that 10^th one. Just a total team effort."
 
Wofford was paced by four Terriers in double figures, two of which tallied over 20 points. Rachael Rose and Jackie Carman led the charge with 23 points each. Rose was 8-of-8 at the charity stripe and 7-of-12 from the floor to gather her 14^th consecutive game with double-digit scoring. It's now the third-longest streak in program history. This was Rose's eight 20-point outing of the campaign. She added three steals and dished eight assists to lead the squad and tie her career high.
 
Carman was 8-of-17 from the field and knocked down half of her threes, four total, with five boards and an assist.
 
Helen Matthews notched her ninth double-digit scoring game of the season with 13 points. She added six boards and three assists. Abbey Crawford netted 10 points for her first double-digit outing of the campaign. Crawford contributed five rebounds.
 
"You never know whose night it's going to be, and tonight it was Abbey's night," said Rose. "She came off the bench and helped us so much. Just moving the ball, specifically in the second half, was amazing."
 
Annabelle Schultz was just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine boards. Her rebounds led the team, as did her four steals. Lilly Hatton netted six points, and Ja'Rae Smith added two with a smooth floater to round out Wofford's scorers.
 
The contest was a tight back-and-forth tilt out of the gates. Samford won the jump and scored first before Wofford tied it up immediately. The Bulldogs held a three-point lead after the first quarter and looked to take another tight lead into halftime. But Rachael Rose knocked down four free throws in the final minute to even the score at 36-36 at the break.
 
The lead was again tightly changing hands early in the third, as Abbey Crawford put home back-to-back mid-range shots to get Wofford ahead, 40-39 with 8:33 on the clock. Though Samford retook the edge, Lilly Hatton and Jackie Carman splashed consecutive treys to lift the Terriers to a 51-47 advantage with 3:34 on the clock. Despite two Bulldog free throws in the final minute, Crawford scored to precede an Annabelle Schultz steal and Rachael Rose layup in the closing seconds to make the margin 62-54 entering the fourth.
 
Things began to unravel immediately for Samford in the fourth. Rachael Rose swiped a steal on the opening possession and fed to Jackie Carman for a bucket. This kicked off five consecutive possessions to open the fourth in which Samford committed a turnover, all of which Wofford capitalized on with a score. The Bulldogs finally got off their first shot of the frame at the 6:36 mark, but the attempt missed with the score already at 75-54. The run ultimately extended to 23-straight points for the Terriers, which Samford finally broke with a layup with 4:06 remaining to make the score 81-56. Wofford cruised from there to an 86-60 triumph after out-scoring Samford 24-6 in the fourth.
 
"It really started on the defensive end," said Garrity of the fourth-quarter explosion. "I think we got like three or four turnovers in a row that probably turned into about eight or 10 points, and that was in a matter of a minute-and-a-half, and that opened it up. I'm just unbelievably proud of our kids. Samford is so good, so talented. They've got dynamic players; they're well-coached. They played really hard. The first half was back-and-forth a little bit. I think the biggest lead may have been five or six points, but give our players all the credit in the world. They came in the third quarter after halftime, and I think we locked down defensively."
 
Wofford returns to the court on Saturday for Senior Day and a Black Out in the regular-season finale. The Terriers will battle Mercer at 2:00 p.m. inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium as part of a doubleheader with the men's team, which plays at 7:00 p.m.