ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Wofford women's basketball team left it all on the court Friday morning at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, pushing No. 1 UNCG to the edge, but the Spartans ultimately pulled out a 54-50 victory over the No. 4 Terriers in the SoCon Tournament. Wofford concludes its gutsy campaign at 17-12 while UNCG improves to 24-6.
 
"I though it was two evenly matched teams," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "It was a hard-fought game. Points were tough to come by from both ends. I thought the difference was the free throw line. They got there 22 times to our five, and that turned out to hurt us pretty badly. I thought this team going into this tournament, they believed. They believed all season long. They never made excuses. We had more than our share of adversity, and they just continue to impress… This team just fought, and they battled. They were great teammates to one another, and I'm so proud of the culture that they have bought into, and they live it. Wofford College and the coaching staff is really proud of them."
 
Defense was paramount for both squads, as each team shot similarly around 31 or 32 percent. Wofford posted a slightly better clip of 32.2 percent (19-of-59) with UNCG at 31.5 percent (17-of-54). The Terriers were better from distance with seven made threes while holding the Spartans to four. Wofford was perfect at the free throw line, 5-of-5, but UNCG made more trips to the stripe to shoot 16-of-22. UNCG won the glass, 44-33, with 15 offensive rebounds to notch five more second chance points, 14-9. Turnovers were even at eight apiece with each team tallying seven points off turnovers.
 
"We're just incredibly proud," said associate head coach Mike Merrill. "I don't have the correct words to describe how proud we are of this group. It's a pretty emotional locker room in there. You know, we thought we had one more game in us here. And I give them all the credit. I told them in the locker room, in order to have a chance to win a championship, we preach togetherness in our program all the time. We try to live by it where other people just talk about it. But I think you've got to be good. There was no doubt this team was good. We're all a little frustrated because of our injuries. We never really quite got to show how good this team could have been. You know, you get Rachael Rose for six games, and you lose Helen Matthews for half a conference season, and there's a number of other people that played through a lot of injuries. The other thing, too, we told them you got to be healthy, and I'm not the right person to run down our injury report, but you also have to be a little bit lucky, and in order to win a championship, you got to do those three things. And I think the healthiness we definitely didn't have, and we caught a couple bad breaks, but we're very proud of them."
 
Fifth-year senior Helen Matthews continued to play through her arm injury to make a meaningful impact, depositing 13 points with eight rebounds and four assists alongside a block to lead the team in each category. Freshman Molly Masingale joined her in double-digits with 12 points, adding three boards and a steal.
 
"We talk about being together and being great teammates, and I think this team really embodied that," said Matthews after her last game as a Terrier. "We're all such good friends, and we play for each other. I like to think that maybe I had a part in setting that culture and that it can continue."
 
"One of the best things that I can say about Helen is her gratitude," said Garrity. "She appreciates what Wofford has done for her, and she expresses that. She's always been willing to be coached. The way she looks after the younger players, she had a big part of accepting that. It's one thing when your coaches try to establish the culture, but it goes to a different level when your players determine what's acceptable and what's not acceptable. As a coaching staff, we just sit back and let them grow. She's just been tremendous on and off the court, and she is going to be successful in life."
 
Evangelia Paulk and Libby Privett each recorded eight points. Paulk secured seven rebounds with a steal and a block. Privett notched a pair of boards, and she matched her career best with two threes made. Queen Ikhiuwu tallied five points, and Mia Flor added four rebounds.
 
UNCG opened with the game's first bucket, but Evangelia Paulk converted a pair at the charity stripe before burying a three for a Wofford lead. After trading some points, Queen Ikhiuwu secured an and-one play to keep Wofford ahead by four. The Spartans fought back and closed the quarter on a five-point run to claim a 15-14 edge entering the second.
 
Toni Warren opened the second quarter with a mid-range jumper, but UNCG responded with a three. After two UNCG free throws, Libby Privett buried from distance, and she nixed a Spartan bucket with a layup of her own. Privett then put home another trey, and Helen Matthews followed with one of her own for a five-point advantage, 27-22. The squads closed out the half trading a pair of baskets each, and Mia Flor's score with 36 seconds to go kept Wofford ahead 31-26 at the break.
 
The Terriers kept their foot on the gas out of the halftime break, as Matthews scored, and Paulk put home a three for a 10-point lead, 36-26. UNCG went on a six-point run to pull back within four, but Molly Masingale delivered a trey for some breathing room. After trading some blows, the Spartans chipped away and pulled within a point before Masingale again connected from beyond the arc to keep UNCG at arm's length. A late Spartan free throw made it a three-point game, 44-41, entering the final 10 minutes of play.
 
UNCG opened the fourth with a layup, but Matthews hit one of her own. The Spartans then hit a rhythm and scored eight-straight points to lead 51-46. Matthews and Masingale hit back-to back shots as the clock trickled under a minute to pull the Terriers within a point, 51-50, with 44 seconds left. As time wound down, Wofford was forced to foul, and the Spartans made both with 13 seconds left for a three-point edge, 53-50. The Terriers gave one last effort, but the shot missed the mark, and UNCG sealed the 54-50 win with one more free throw.
 
Despite the loss, Wofford concluded another impressive campaign under head coach Jimmy Garrity. The Terriers overcame a pair of season-ending injuries, including one to back-to-back SoCon Player of the Year Rachael Rose, to post a 17-12 mark overall and an 8-6 SoCon clip. Wofford advanced to the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament for a fifth consecutive season, the longest active streak in the conference.
 
"Helen and Rachael, their leadership ever since I was a freshman has been so important," said Evangelia Paulk. "They're an extension of the coaching staff. They tell us and show us all the time on and off the court what is acceptable and unacceptable. For the freshmen, they came in and they stepped up. Molly Masingale – she is not a point guard, but she ran it the entire year, and I couldn't be more proud of them for stepping up in big moments."
 
The Terriers will return to the court in the fall of 2025 to begin the next campaign looking to build on yet another successful season in Spartanburg.