SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Behind a stellar defensive effort Saturday afternoon, the Wofford women's basketball team pulled away in the second half en route to a 59-41 triumph over Samford in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Wofford improves to 12-7 and 4-1 in SoCon play, and Samford drops to 11-10 (3-3 SoCon).
 
The win stretches Wofford's overall win streak to four in row. It is the fifth consecutive win for the Terriers over the Bulldogs.
 
"Samford came in here playing really well. I think they're playing with a lot of confidence," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "To come out of here with a win is just tremendous. I thought we defended really well. They run a lot of complicated stuff, and we made a few mistakes, but overall I thought we guarded their actions really well. Protecting your house is always a big key, and I was really excited and proud of the way we played together today."
 
Wofford shot at a 37.7 percent clip in the contest with a 30.8 percent rate from three. The Terrier defense was stout in the game by holding the Bulldogs to a 29.3 percent shooting rate and a 14.3 percent three-point clip. Wofford's defense put forth five blocks as well, tying the squad's season high, alongside 15 forced turnovers for 16 extra points. The Terriers also claimed the rebounding battle, 38-35, and distributed the ball well with 13 assists.
 
"We talked a lot about when it came to Samford we just had to play basketball, switch when we might not have wanted to switch, and I think that's where a lot of those blocks came from, just playing basketball and helping our teammates out when they needed it," said sophomore Indiya Clarke of the team's blocking efforts.
 
Rachael Rose led the way for the Terriers with 21 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the campaign. The junior added in a team-high six assists and six steals alongside a block. She has stretched her double-digit scoring streak to 38 games in a row.
 
Annabelle Schultz and Maddie Heiss each posted nine points. Schultz added in four rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block. Heiss scored all nine of her points via three triples while adding a board.
 
Evangelia Paulk and Indiya Clarke both totaled eight points to mark four Terriers just short of double figures. Paulk recorded six rebounds and a career-high five assists with a block. Clarke added six boards as well with a steal.
 
Ja'Rae Smith rounds out the Wofford scoring with four points. She also secured four rebounds. Though scoreless, Vitolia Tuilave totaled four boards and a rejection.
 
"We had four players right at eight or nine points, and I thought we got a little bit loose with the ball, but we won the rebounding battle, which was good," said Garrity of the balanced team performance. "The second-chance opportunities we got were really important, and just down the stretch we made more plays."
 
The Terriers opened the game with a Rachael Rose score after winning the opening tip. Samford would tie the game and take the lead before Wofford reclaimed it. From there the score would see-saw between the teams until Rose put home a jumper in the final minute to tie the game once more. After a quarter of play, the squads were knotted up at 10-all.
 
Wofford opened the second quarter on a roll, as Evangelia Paulk drilled a trey before a pair of Rose free throws gave the Terriers a five-point edge. But Samford embarked on a seven-point run to pull ahead by two before a Paulk bucket retied the game. After Ja'Rae Smith gave the Terriers a two-point margin, the Bulldogs pulled level once more. Rose then hit a three, and Smith again connected in the paint. Another Rose three in the final 20 seconds gave Wofford a six-point lead, 27-21, entering the break.
 
The game saw a total of eight lead changes and six ties, all of which came in the back-and-forth first half. The second half saw the Terriers hold firm and create separation.
 
"We talked about it at halftime – with the mistakes with made in the first half, we were still up," said senior Annabelle Schultz of the second-half pull-away. "We just had to stay calm and stay together, and then the crowd helped us out. When we hit a few big shots, they got us going. We had multiple people step up and play extremely well. I'm super proud of the entire locker room."
 
That separation did not come without a fight from Samford early on. The Bulldogs pulled within a point, 27-26, to open the third quarter. However, Annabelle Schultz scored inside before a Maddie Heiss three extended the lead to six once more. Heiss added another three later in the frame, and a Paulk paint score in the closing seconds pushed the Terrier lead to double-digits, 43-32, entering the final quarter.
 
Indiya Clarke opened the final frame with a pair of free throws before a Bulldog three made the margin 10 points. But that would be as close as Samford would get the rest of the way, as back-to-back scores by Schultz pushed the lead back to 14 points, 49-35. Samford gave attempts to fight back, but its scores were met in kind by the Terriers. Ultimately, Wofford would ride an eight-point run late in the quarter that pushed the lead to 20 points, 59-39, with 1:39 to go, effectively icing the contest. A late Samford bucket would make the final margin 59-41 for Wofford's fourth consecutive win.
 
After three-straight home games, the Terriers hit the road next weekend for a Tennessee trip. First, Wofford travels to Chattanooga to face the Mocs on Thursday, February 1, at 7:00 p.m. The Terriers then head to Johnson City for a match-up with ETSU on Saturday, February 3 at 1:30 p.m.