SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team displayed tenacity Thursday night in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, overcoming an early deficit to earn a comeback 71-65 victory over the High Point Panthers. The win pushes the Terriers to 4-2 as the Panthers dip to 3-3.
 
"High Point's a really good team, and the way they came into our gym to start the game, they were playing well and making shots," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "I'll give it to our players. They never wavered in their confidence, showed a lot of resiliency, and to come back after being punched like that early on and to make it a ballgame by halftime was just really important for us. So I'm super proud of them."
 
Both teams shot the ball well, posting clips over 40 percent. Wofford boasted a 45.3 percent mark (24-of-53) as High Point touted a 42.9 percent clip (21-of-49). The difference was the three-point line, as the Terriers knocked down 40.0 percent (8-of-20) of their treys while holding the Panthers to 28.6 percent (6-of-21) beyond the arc. High Point won the boards, 31-24, but once again Wofford won the turnover battle. The Terriers committed 14 turnovers while forcing 17 Panther miscues.
 
"I think it says a lot," said Maddie Heiss of the comeback win. "We all work so hard and have prepared ourselves for this moment. I'm just so proud and happy for all my teammates and how all the work showed in the game. We played with a lot of grit today and a lot of toughness, so I'm proud of us for that."
 
Three Terriers scored in double-digits, led by Helen Matthews and Maddie Heiss with 17 points each. Matthews dished a pair of assists and added a block, and Heiss secured three rebounds. Libby Privett tallied 10 points with a pair of boards and an assist. Though not showing on the stat sheet, Privett notched a clutch deflection in the waning minutes that turned into a High Point turnover to help seal the win.
 
"We put a lot of extra work in. We get in outside of practice to put shots up," said Matthews of the team's scoring. "We believe in each other. I think we had more emphasis today on creating shots for each other moving off the ball, and that really paid off."
 
Indiya Clarke and Evagelia Paulk were just shy of double figures with nine points apiece. Paulk entered the night sixth in the nation in total steals and kept up the pace with three more swipes tonight alongside three assists. Clarke tied for the team rebounding lead with six, matching Mia Flor's career-high output. Molly Masingale dished a trio of helpers and added seven points.
 
Wofford opened with first three points as Libby Privett drilled a triple just 29 seconds into the contest. High Point notched the next five points, and Helen Matthews scored a mid-range bucket to pull level. However, the Panthers pulled back in front with a pair of free throws, and they found a rhythm from there with the next 10 points. Evangelia Paulk stepped up with a bucket, followed by a steal and feed to Matthews to try to keep pace, but High Point tallied the final five points of the quarter to lead 20-9 after 10 minutes.
 
Needing a response, Molly Masingale opened the second frame with a three just 15 seconds in. Despite a pair of High Point foul shots, Maddie Heiss drained from distance, and she added a layup after a Masingale bucket. Those seven points pulled Wofford within three, 22-19, with 6:30 on the clock. Wofford kept its foot on the gas, pulling within one point three separate times, the last of which came off a Paulk layup with 2:48 on the clock. Masingale went to the line a minute later and converted both to push Wofford back ahead and erase the 11-point deficit. However, High Point closed the half with four unanswered points to hold a slight edge, 32-29, entering the break.
 
For the third-straight quarter, Wofford opened the third frame with a three, this time by Privett. Clarke followed with a layup to push Wofford ahead by two points. The teams continued to trade blows from there with High Point holding a slight lead. Wofford kept pushing as Privett converted a pair of foul shots and Heiss put home a jumper to pull back within a point. The Panthers notched seven-straight points, but Wofford punched back with the final four points to pull within four, 50-46, going into the ultimate 10 minutes.
 
High Point opened the final frame with a jumper, but Heiss responded with a triple to push Wofford in front. It did not stop there, as Matthews buried a three after a Panther miss. She converted in the paint thereafter, and the 11-point Wofford run concluded with a Clarke trey. Wofford led 57-52 with 6:50 to go. High Point pulled back to within three, 59-56, with 5:32 on the clock, but Matthews came up big again with a three off a Clarke steal. A late Panther push pulled High Point within a point, 64-63, with two minutes remaining. After a Panther turnover, Paulk converted inside, but a High Point layup pulled the score back to a two-point game. With under 20 seconds remaining, the Panthers got a rebound off a missed Terrier three and took a timeout to advance. On the ensuing inbound, Privett jumped the pass and knocked it down the court. In the footrace for the ball, it went out off a Panther for a turnover. The clutch play by Privett, turned the remainder of the game into free throws for Wofford, with Matthews, Clarke, and Paulk all converting to ice the 71-65 Terrier triumph.
 
"I was just reading her eyes," said Privett of her clutch deflection. "I knew they were trying to get a quick shot, and I knew that they might throw the ball away, so I just kind of baited her into it. I just went all out for it. I knew my teammates were going to have my back if I didn't get it, and that just shows about the trust I have in my teammates."
 
Wofford remains at home to welcome UNC Asheville to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, November 26. The contest is Education Day with a special tip-off time of 11:00 a.m.