SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After a tight first quarter of play Tuesday morning, the Wofford women's basketball picked up steam and pulled away as the morning rolled over to afternoon for a 75-56 triumph over UNC Asheville. It was Education Day inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium with a raucous crowd of over 1,300 local students enjoying a Terrier victory, pushing Wofford to 5-2 on the year. Asheville drops to 0-6.
"The atmosphere was fantastic," said head coach
Jimmy Garrity. "The kids were here early and in their seats, loud, cheering for us. At the end of the day, we made a lot of mistakes, but I'll give UNC Asheville the credit. They do a fantastic job of guarding hard. They guarded our stuff really well, but I'm super excited and happy we came away with a hard-fought win."
Wofford was outstanding on offense, hitting 50.2 percent (31-of-61) of its shots. Despite a 22.2 percent three-point clip (4-of-18), the Terriers topped the Bulldogs in both marks, 31.7 percent overall (19-of-60) and 15.0 percent from three (3-of-20) for Asheville. The Terriers won the glass, 39-23, and Wofford owned the paint with 48 paint points. Asheville only recorded 18 points down low. Despite committing three more turnovers, 20-17, Wofford was better in transition with nine total steals and 22 fast break points to top Asheville's eight.
Evangelia Paulk led the charge for Wofford, recording a career-high 20 points. She is the first Terrier this season to reach 20 in a game. Paulk was 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 beyond the arc. She tied for the team lead with eight boards and swiped five steals, her fourth-career game of 5-plus steals. She has pushed her season total to 26, now locked in a four-way tie for the national lead.
"It's just a team effort," said Paulk of her performance. "I credit it all to my teammates. They have my back. I know if I go for steals, they're going to be there for me."
Maddie Heiss joined her in double figures with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. She posted six boards and dished a pair of assists.
Queen Ikhiuwu was just short of double-digits with her nine points, and she grabbed five rebounds.
Libby Privett notched eight points with three boards and two steals.
Helen Matthews and
Indiya Clarke each netted seven points. Matthews tied Paulk for the rebounding lead with eight while adding four assists. Clarke dished a career-best five helpers to pace the squad while adding five boards.
Molly Masingale added three assists with six points.
"We all created open looks for each other, and then we have the confidence to knock it down," said Heiss of the team's offensive performance. "That was just our mindset, is shoot your shot and shoot it with confidence. We did that today, so I'm super proud of everybody."
Wofford opened the game with aggression as
Libby Privett immediately stole the ball and put home a fast break bucket. Nearly a minute later,
Evangelia Paulk added her own swipe-and-score. Asheville would respond with four points in a row to tie the game, and the Bulldogs went up by two with free throws at the 5:24 mark. They led for the majority of the quarter from there as Wofford began to chip away.
Queen Ikhiuwu was the difference maker late in the quarter, hitting a free throw to pull Wofford within one, and she put home a layup with 29 seconds left to push the Terriers ahead by one, 14-13, and Wofford held the lead to enter quarter two.
Paulk opened the second quarter with a three, but Asheville responded with a layup and a three to go up 18-17. After another bucket by the Bulldogs, Paulk swished another triple to the game, but Asheville pulled back ahead to 25-20. The Terriers again chipped away with
Helen Matthews and
Maddie Heiss hitting back-to-back buckets to tie the ballgame. This sparked the Terrier offense, as Heiss converted again for the lead with Wofford posting a 12-point run to close the half. Asheville's last basket of the second quarter came at the 5:42 mark.
Indiya Clarke's and-one play pushed the Wofford lead to 32-25 to close the half.
Wofford continued to roll out of the break, recording the first five points of the third quarter for an overall 17-point run. Ikhiuwu opened the quarter with a paint bucket, and Paulk followed with a fastbreak score while drawing a foul, and she converted the free throw for the three-point play and a 36-25 lead. After trading some blows, Heiss later added her own and-one play. About halfway through the quarter, Clarke put home a jumper, and after a Bulldog free throw, Paulk tallied a board-and-bucket. A three by Matthews at the 2:38 mark pushed the Terrier advantage to 51-35. Though Asheville closed the quarter with four points in a row, Wofford led 51-39 entering the final stanza. Most of Asheville's points in the final six minutes of the half were from the free throw line. After a layup at the 5:57 mark, the Terrier defense did not allow another field goal until the 58 second mark.
The Bulldogs would carry their momentum into the fourth quarter, posting the first six points of the frame to pull within 53-45. The teams traded some blows before Paulk put home a bucket in the paint. Clarke and Heiss each added scores thereafter to stretch the lead back out to 63-49. The Bulldogs responded with a lay-in, but Paulk parried with a deep score, and Privett added a steal and fastbreak bucket. Heiss then posted another score, pushing the Wofford lead to 70-51 with 2:24 remaining. After Asheville's lay-in with 3:55 on the clock, the Bulldogs were held scoreless until a pair of foul shots at the 1:29 mark. From there the teams traded blows, mostly at the free throw line, but the damage had long been done. Wofford closed out a 75-56 triumph on Education Day.
The Terriers will now get a hard-earned break between games, first enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday before returning for a week of preparation for a match-up with former Southern Conference foe Appalachian State. The contest against the Mountaineers is set for Saturday, December 7, at 6:00 p.m. in Spartanburg. The game will be broadcast regionally on The CW 62 as well as streamed on ESPN+ as part of the Ingles-Nexstar broadcasting package.
