SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team triumphed 73-38 over King (Tenn.) Saturday afternoon inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium behind a stout defensive effort. Wofford improves to 8-5 to close non-conference action as King remains 5-7 with the contest an exhibition for the Division II Tornado.
 
The Terriers conclude non-conference play a perfect 7-0 at home, marking the second time in the last three seasons that Wofford enters Southern Conference action unblemished on its home court. The last instance was the 2022-23 campaign in which Wofford was 6-0 at home entering conference play.
 
The Terriers shot 39.7 percent (25-of-63) in the contest as the Tornado put forth a 32.6 percent (14-of-43) clip. However, Wofford far outpaced from distance with 11 made threes to just the one of King. Wofford won the boards 44-26 with a 20-8 offensive rebounding advantage. The Terrier defense was stifling with 28 forced turnovers, 15 of which were steals. This led to 29 Wofford points from turnovers and 10 fast break points. The Terriers displayed exceptional ball movement with 20 assists as only five of the Terrier makes were unassisted.
 
"We just want to keep the intensity up because our defense leads to our offense," said Evangelia Paulk of the defensive pressure. "That's what we pride ourselves on."
 
"Twenty assists to 25 makes – we'll take that every time," said head coach Jimmy Garrity of the ball movement. "We talked about that before. We've got to get ball movement, some paint touches, player movement, and I thought we did a really good job with that."
 
Three Terriers reached double-digits with Toni Warren and Evangelia Paulk pacing the squad at 18 points each. Paulk almost had a double-double with eight boards, and she swiped five steals to follow her historic night Thursday. She has lifted her season total to 48 thefts after securing 46 steals during the whole of last season. Warren was 7-of-12 from the floor with a 4-of-6 three-point mark. Her made threes are a career best, and she added three boards.
 
Molly Masingale put forth the most complete game of her young career, nearly tallying a triple-double. The freshman netted 11 points with nine rebounds and a career-high eight assists. She added five steals, also a career best.
 
"It was just different for me this game because I had to step into a role that I've never played before," said Masingale of her performance. "With the coaches and my teammates, they just gave me the confidence I needed to do all the things I did today."

Maddie Heiss just missed double figures with nine points as she added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Helen Matthews posted six points with four assists, and Madi Hawk had five points. Mia Flor and Queen Ikhiuwu notched six and five rebounds, respectively. Flor added a block, her third-straight game with a denial.
 
The Terrier defense set a tone for the day early as Maddie Heiss recorded a steal just 10 seconds into the contest, and she would convert the fastbreak bucket for a lead the Terriers never relinquished. Evangelia Paulk added a three, and from there Wofford netted the opening 12 points of the game. The run included a pair of steals and Helen Matthews knocking down a trio of foul shots after getting fouled on a three-point attempt. King got on the board at the 3:10 mark, but the Tornado only tallied five points in the quarter. Heiss closed the frame with a three to provide Wofford an 18-5 advantage.
 
Toni Warren drilled a triple to open the second quarter. The teams traded a few baskets, but Madi Hawk's three helped Wofford maintain an edge. Later in the frame, Warren again converted beyond the arc, and Paulk swiped a steal that led to a Mia Flor lay-in, making the Wofford lead 20 (33-13). The Tornado found their first three-pointer, but Warren remained hot from distance with one of her own to nix it. King would record the final four points of the half to cut the margin to 36-20 at the break.
 
After the Tornado put home the first bucket of the second half, Molly Masingale hit from deep. A King bucket was followed up by Masingale converting in the paint before Paulk tallied a scoop and score. The third frame was the lowest scoring of the contest with both teams tallying just nine points each. Masingale added a steal and score with about a minute left, but King put in a layup before the buzzer to maintain a deficit of 45-29 entering the final frame.
 
King put home a quick score to begin the fourth quarter, but an intentional foul on the inbound led to a pair of Heiss free throws, and Wofford's ensuing possession was punctuated by a Paulk trey. The Tornado added a free throw, but a Flor score at the 8:19 mark kicked off a 20-point Terrier run that spanned nearly six whole minutes. The run was highlighted by triples from Masingale, Warren, and Matthews. Paulk added four foul shots at the stripe. The Tornado got back on the board with 49 seconds to go by virtue of a jumper, but Warren netted a jumper herself with Hawk adding a score at the free throw line. King ended the game with a pair of foul shots, but the Terriers secured a 73-38 triumph to close non-conference action.
 
Wofford will open Southern Conference play in one week when rival Furman comes to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Saturday, January 11. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.