SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team put forth a gritty performance Thursday night in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, battling back with a 27-point fourth quarter to edge the Mercer Bears, 65-64, at home. Wofford improves to 11-7 (3-1 SoCon) with the win while Mercer drops to 8-13 (2-3 SoCon).
 
The win is Wofford's third in a row over Mercer, the longest win streak for the Terriers in their series against the Bears. It also marks a current three-game win streak for the Terriers including the last two at home.
 
The teams were relatively even shooting, both at 36 percent. Mercer was 26 percent from three with Wofford shooting 28 percent from distance, but the free throw line proved pivotal. Mercer was 9-of-15 for a 60 percent mark, but Wofford shot 83.3 percent at 15-of-18. Though Mercer won the rebounding battle, 52-36, the turnover margin favored the Terriers. The Wofford defense forced 13 turnovers for 16 extra points with Wofford guilty of only nine giveaways.
 
Rachael Rose powered the Terriers with 32 points on the night, her third-career 30-point game and second of the season (both coming in the last three games). Rose was 8-of-12 from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 from three. At the charity stripe, the junior was a perfect 14-of-14, one free throw shy of Wofford's single-game record of 15 makes set by Jenny Nett in 2002. Rose is the first Terrier to be perfect at the charity stripe with at least 10 attempts since 2012 when Morgan Wrightson was 12-of-12 against Maine. Rose added six rebounds, a team-leading five assists, a block and a steal.
 
Evangelia Paulk kept her hot streak alive, tallying 10 points. She added seven rebounds to top the squad and also recorded a block and assist. Annabelle Schultz was just short of double figures with eight points, including two three-pointers. She added a steal.
 
Indiya Clarke contributed seven points with three rebounds. Maddie Heiss and Vitolia Tuilave each added four points to round out Wofford's scoring. Heiss tied her career best with four boards. Tuilave added five boards and dished a career-high three assists while also recording two blocks. Though scoreless, Ja'Rae Smith swiped a pair of steals and tacked on two rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
 
Wofford got on the board first after winning the opening tip with a Rachael Rose layup, but Mercer responded with an eight-point run. The Terriers fought back, pulling within four thanks to a Rose jumper late, but the Bears responded on the other end. Annabelle Schultz put home the final points of the quarter with 38 seconds to go, and Wofford trailed by just four, 12-8, after 10 minutes of action.
 
Rachael Rose went to the free throw line and converted a pair with 8:51 on the clock for the first points of the second quarter, and the defenses dug in their heels from there. Neither team was able to score again until the 4:26 mark, a paint score by Indiya Clarke to tie the game at 12. At the 4:11 mark, Mercer got its first points of the quarter with a pair of free throws, but Rose responded immediately with a trey. The teams would pass the lead back-and-forth a few times from there, matching one another in stride. Annabelle Schultz buried a triple with 1:42 to go, and Rose again put home a pair at the stripe late, but Mercer hit a three in the closing seconds of the half to make it a one-point game. But it was Wofford ahead, 22-21, at the break.
 
It was a tale of two halves in Spartanburg, as the first half of the contest saw Mercer shoot 30 percent with Wofford at a 21 percent clip. There were three combined three-pointers made and 15 total turnovers. Six of Wofford's 9 giveaways came in the first half. But while the first half was all about defense, the second half saw the offenses begin to come to life, especially the fourth quarter.
 
But to set up that fourth and final frame, the Bears opened the third with a three to reclaim the lead. Rachael Rose responded with a jumper to tie the game, and Mercer put home back-to-back shots to pull ahead by four. Wofford fought back, and Indiya Clarke tied the game again with a jumper before Evangelia Paulk put the Terriers up with a layup, 31-29. However, a three gave the Bears some life, and it turned into an eight-point run with 2:55 to go and Mercer up 37-31. Clarke drilled a trey, but the Bears again pushed their lead to seven, 41-34. However, Rose converted at the line before a Ja'Rae Smith steal led into a Paulk bucket, and Wofford entered the pivotal fourth quarter down only three, 41-38.
 
Determined to complete the comeback, Annabelle Schultz opened the fourth with a three. The teams would trade the lead multiple times over the opening four minutes of the quarter with no one able to lead by more than two. A three-ball by Evangelia Paulk at the 5:58 mark stretched the Wofford lead to five, 54-49, but the Bears immediately cut it down to one. But Rachael Rose was fouled on a three-point attempt, and she put home all three foul shots to push Wofford back ahead by four. Mercer kept pulling close, but Wofford continued to find an answer. Up by only two, Rose was fouled on her make in the paint, and she finished the three-point play at the line for separation. A Bear layup was followed by a Maddie Heiss make. After Mercer secured a pair of free throws with two minutes left, the defenses clamped up again with Wofford ahead 62-59. Neither team was able to score for almost two minutes until Paulk was fouled with nine seconds left. She converted one shot to make the margin four points, and Mercer put home a layup with four seconds to go. Rose was fouled and converted both shots, again making the margin four. And that proved decisive as though the Bears put home a three in the final seconds, they were unable to foul once more on the inbound, and Wofford walked away with a gritty 65-64 triumph.
 
The Terriers utilized a stout 27-point fourth quarter to seal the comeback victory. Those 27 points are more than either team scored in the first half. The Terrier defense also had to hold firm, forcing three defensive stops in the final minute before Paulk was fouled to help ice the win.
 
The Terriers remain home on Saturday for a match-up against Samford. Tip-off against the Bulldogs is slated for 2:00 p.m. inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.