GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team left it all on the court for 50 minutes in Bon Secours Wellness Arena Saturday afternoon, but the Furman Paladins held on for the 93-88 double overtime win. Wofford trailed by as many as 18 points and 14 at halftime before soaring back to force overtime. The Terriers drop to 14-7 (6-2 SoCon) as the Paladins improve to 13-11 (3-5 SoCon).
 
The Terriers played in their first overtime contest since the 2020-21 COVID season when they played an extra frame at Mercer on February 21, 2021. This was Wofford's first double-overtime affair since doing so against ETSU on January 16, 2021.
 
"Furman is a really talented team," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "They got off to a big lead in the second quarter. At halftime we were down 14, and I thought we did a tremendous job coming back. We outscored them by 17 in the third. As we were coming back, we really played our game, and we got it back on the defensive end. I thought we were really good and made plays on the offensive end. I thought we played hard down the stretch, but Furman just made a few more plays than we did. But I am incredibly proud of this group."
 
Furman outshot Wofford with a 50.7 percent clip (34-of-67) compared to the 31.7 percent mark (26-of-82) of the Terriers. Wofford, however, knocked down seven threes compared to just the two of Furman. The Paladins won the glass, 50-45, but the Terriers held a 22-13 offensive rebounding advantage. The Terrier defense forced 25 Furman turnovers with 13 steals, aiding in 24 points off turnovers.
 
Evangelia Paulk had a career day with 29 points while playing all but 13 seconds of the contest. She knocked down four triples and was 11-of-13 at the charity stripe, including sinking a pair at the line in crunch time to force overtime. She narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards while adding four assists and five steals. This marks her seventh career five-plus steal game as her season total rises to 67 swipes.
 
Molly Masingale deposited 18 points with seven boards, four assists, and four steals. Queen Ikhiuwu marked a trio of Terriers in double figures with her 12 points, matching her career best. She added three rebounds. Libby Privett was also just shy of a double-double with nine points and a career-best 10 rebounds. She added three assists and two steals.
 
Maddie Heiss and Helen Matthews each scored eight points. Heiss totaled four assists with three rebounds. Matthews added four assists and four boards.
 
Furman opened the contest with the first six points, but an immediate eight-point Terrier run pushed Wofford in front. The sides would trade blows throughout the first quarter with a Helen Matthews score giving Wofford a three-point lead. However, four-straight conversions at the stripe for Furman closed the frame to provide the Paladins an 18-17 lead.
 
The squads traded baskets to open the second quarter with Queen Ikhiuwu's bucket keeping the contest a one-point game. Furman would notch the next 12 points, however, pulling ahead 32-19. A Libby Privett free throw broke the spell, but the momentum rested firmly with the Paladins. Furman led by as much as 18 with 1:48 to go in the quarter. Two Ikhiuwu and-ones plus a Molly Masingale trey aided Wofford down the stretch, but the Paladins got a late layup to lead by 14, 45-31, at the break.
 
Furman opened the third quarter with back-to-back scores to push the lead back to 18, but Matthews converted at the free throw line before putting home a put-back layup. This sparked a whopping 17-point run for the Terriers as the tide of the contest began to change. The run featured Evangelia Paulk burying a triple and a three-point play alongside a Privett trey, which punctuated the run, pulling Wofford within a point. After trading baskets, Privett put home a pair at the line to push Wofford in front. After trading the lead three more times, Paulk marked a fourth swap with her free throw conversions, and Maddie Heiss knocked home two as well to mark a 58-55 advantage for the Terriers.
 
Carrying the momentum into the fourth, Masingale knocked home a trey to open the frame. A Heiss jumper provided a five-point lead for the Terriers with 7:30 on the clock, but a Furman three gave the Paladins life. They took the lead with 4:31 to go, but Heiss retied the contest. Furman again pulled ahead before Paulk brought Wofford level once more with 2:32 to go. The teams went quiet until a Paladin score with two seconds left for another lead. Paulk was fouled going to the basket on Wofford's last chance, and she clutched up to bury both shots and send the contest to overtime tied at 72.
 
Wofford opened overtime with the first seven points, punctuated by a Paulk triple. Furman fought back to pull within one twice, the second of which was with 25 seconds to go. Wofford made a free throw right after for a two-point advantage, but a Furman score in the closing seconds forced a second overtime period with the score again knotted at 82.
 
Furman opened the second overtime on a 4-1 run. Paulk put home a layup to pull Wofford within one, but three-straight free throw conversions pushed the Paladins ahead by four with 1:20 to go. Both teams went quiet from there, and as time ran thin for the Terriers they were forced to foul. After Furman's conversion, Paulk again displayed her clutch gene by burying a three with five seconds left. Another foul and conversion for Furman would seal the game, however, 93-88, for the Paladins.
 
Wofford returns to action next Thursday, February 13, with a trip to Cullowhee, North Carolina. Tip-off against Western Carolina is set for 6:00 p.m. inside the Ramsey Center.