BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Wofford women's basketball team fought hard Saturday afternoon inside Stabler Arena, but the late push to come back fell just short as the Terriers lost 69-64 to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Wofford drops to 6-4 on the season as Lehigh improves to 8-3.
 
Both teams shot at or over 40 percent in the contest with Wofford at 40.6 (26-of-64) and Lehigh at 40.0 (20-of-50). The Mountain Hawks gained an advantage from deep with three more triples made, 10-7. They also got to the free throw line more, putting home 19-of-23 at the stripe with Wofford hitting 5-of-10. The Terriers won the glass, 39-30, and owned a significant advantage on the offensive boards with 16 to Lehigh's seven. This led to a 16-11 second chance points edge and 36 points in the paint. Though the turnover margin was just two, Wofford with 18 and Lehigh at 16, the Mountain Hawks took better advantage with 25 points off turnovers to Wofford's 10.
 
"Lehigh is a very good team that presents a lot of challenges on the defensive side of the ball," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "They made 10 threes and 19 free throws, which turned out to be the difference in the game. I hate that we couldn't come away with the win in front of Rachael's family and friends. We got off to a slow start in the first quarter. I thought we had some really good looks but just couldn't knock them down. I'm proud of the way we fought back and had a couple of opportunities to take the lead in the fourth quarter."
 
Helen Matthews led the way offensively as one of three Terriers in double figures, owing 17 points. She narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards, and she added a pair of steals. Matthews knocked down a trio of three-pointers, matching her career high. Rachael Rose added 15 points in her homecoming game. The Scranton, Pennsylvania, native added a team-high seven assists with four steals. Those helpers pushed her into seventh on Wofford's all-time assists leaderboard. Evangelia Paulk notched a double-double, the sixth of her career and first by a Terrier this season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Molly Masingale added eight points and four boards, and Mia Flor posted seven points with six rebounds.
 
Lehigh opened the scoring with a three, but Helen Matthews buried one in response. The Mountain Hawks went on an eight-point run to pull back in front, but the Terriers responded with a three by Evangelia Paulk. Mia Flor added a layup, and though Lehigh hit a pair of free throws, Molly Masingale hit a jumper to pull Wofford within three at 13-10. Matthews would convert inside to make it a one-point affair, but eight-straight Mountain Hawk points followed. Rachael Rose ended the quarter with a bucket in the paint, and Wofford trailed by just seven, 21-14.
 
The squads traded layups to begin the second quarter, and after a Lehigh three, Maddie Heiss went inside for a score. After trading some blows, a Mountain Hawk layup made it a 10-point game with 3:39 to go before halftime. Wofford began to push back again as Rose converted a pair at the charity stripe before Queen Ikhiuwu put home a layup. Lehigh converted a three, and Masingale put home a paint score. A free throw for the Mountain Hawks ended the half with Lehigh ahead 36-28.
 
Lehigh opened the second half with a triple, but Paulk buried one of her own 20 seconds later in response. After trading layups, Rose connected from distance to cut the margin to seven. The three parade continued with one from the Mountain Hawks and then another from Matthews. Rose continued her strong play with a lay-in after a Heiss swipe, and Matthews connected from distance once more to bring Wofford within four, 48-44. After a Lehigh three, Wofford put home back-to-back scores by Rose and Matthews to pull within three, but the defenses clamped down for two minutes of scoreless action. The final 36 seconds of the quarter saw minimal scoring, all from the charity stripe. Three Mountain Hawk free throws marked a five-point difference, 54-49, heading into the final frame.
 
A three opened the fourth for Lehigh, who added a free throw shortly thereafter. Paulk went beyond arc for her own three as Wofford looked to keep pace. Masingale connected on a layup with 4:39 to go to spark a run for the Terriers. The freshman would add a pair at the stripe, and then Flor got a put-back bucket to bring Wofford within a point, 61-60, with 3:28 on the clock. The teams traded layups around the two-minute mark, but the defenses again picked up. Lehigh would break the scoring drought with 37 seconds left by hitting a layup, and after a couple misses on the Wofford end, the Terriers had to foul. Lehigh converted a pair, and Rose put a layup home to keep the margin at three with five seconds left. After two more Mountain Hawk free throws, the Terriers ran out of time and fell just short in their comeback efforts, 69-64.
 
After a hard-fought battle, the Terriers will get a break for the holidays before capping their four-game road stint on Sunday, December 29, with a trip to South Carolina. The contest in Columbia is set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. and can be seen on the SEC Network.