SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On a Wednesday night when the three-pointer was scarce for both teams, the Wofford women's basketball team adjusted more than UNC Asheville, tallying a 63-54 victory inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Wofford improves to 5-3 with its second-straight win, and Asheville drops to 2-5 on the season.
 
"This was a great team effort," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "I can't tell you how proud I am of our players. Asheville is a really good team that is extremely athletic and tough. For us to match their toughness and effort says a lot about the character of our team."
 
Both teams only made two three-pointers each in the contest, and both teams shot about 37 percent on the night. Wofford was better from the charity stripe, however, shooting 13-of-15 at the line as opposed to Asheville's 50 percent clip at 6-of-12. Both teams had to go inside, each recording at least 30 paint points, but Wofford outdid Asheville, 36-30, in that regard. The Terriers forced 15 Bulldog turnovers for 15 extra points.
 
"We knew the key to tonight would come down to keeping them out of the paint, rebounding and taking care of the ball," said Garrity. "I'm very pleased with how we handled those keys."
 
"I thought we were an overall tough team, and we fought until the very end," added Vitolia Tuilave. "We enjoy playing together, and I think most importantly we had fun out there."
 
Three Terriers tallied double-digits with junior Rachael Rose leading the way with 28 points, a new season high. She was 10-of-16 from the field and 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Rose added nine boards and seven rebounds with a block and two steals.
 
"My teammates – they just set me up for a lot of things," said Rose of her balanced stat line tonight. "Rebounding is all heart; that's just going to get the ball. And setting them up, they know where I'm going; they know I'm always looking for them, so they're always cutting hard."
 
Freshmen Maddie Heiss and Evangelia Paulk each scored 10 points. Heiss added three boards and a steal. Paulk, an Asheville native, recorded seven rebounds and a team-high three steals.
 
Vitolia Tuilave, another freshman, added six points with four boards and a team-best two blocks. Another Asheville native in Annabelle Schultz, a senior, recorded five points with nine rebounds, tying for the team lead. Sophomore Indiya Clarke added two points with five rebounds, and senior Ja'Rae Smith rounds out the scoring with two points.
 
Asheville opened the scoring with a jumper at the 8:34 mark, but Rachael Rose promptly responded, setting a tone for the night in multiple ways. The first of her many points kicked off a contest that featured 11 lead changes and nine ties. But the Bulldogs held a close lead the majority of the first quarter until Annabelle Schultz knotted the contest, 10-10, with a three-pointer at the 2:12 mark. A Maddie Heiss three-point play then gave Wofford a lead, 13-10. Asheville would pull level a couple times thereafter, but Indiya Clarke put home a paint score in the final 30 seconds to give the Terriers a 17-15 edge entering the second quarter.
 
The Bulldogs pulled level immediately to open the second, but back-to-back Evangelia Paulk scores pushed Wofford back in front. A six-point Bulldog run flipped the score, but Rachael Rose immediately tied the game once more. A three at the 3:53 mark by Asheville put the Bulldogs back ahead 26-23, and the defenses clamped down from there. The next points did not come until Rose's jumper with 36 seconds to go before halftime, and she followed up with a layup in the closing seconds with the aid of a Ja'Rae Smith steal to give the Terriers a 27-26 advantage entering the break.
 
The teams traded blows out of the gates in the second half, and a four-point Bulldog run put Asheville ahead 34-31 at the 6:03 mark. But Wofford pushed back, using back-to-back scores from Evangelia Paulk and Ja'Rae Smith to pull back in front, 37-35, with 4:02 remaining. Asheville pulled within one before a Rachael Rose bucket nixed the score, but four-straight Bulldog points pushed them in front by one with just over a minute to go. But Paulk tallied a bucket down low in the final 20 seconds to give Wofford a one-point edge, 43-42, entering the final frame.
 
Evangelia Paulk opened the fourth quarter with another layup, but Asheville responded to pull back within one. However, the Terriers utilized a six-point run for some breathing room. It was started by four-straight Rachael Rose points, and Vitolia Tuilave capped it off with the Terriers up 51-44. Asheville secured a free throw, but Maddie Heiss hit from distance. Free throws from Annabelle Schultz preceded a Heiss score for a double-digit lead, 58-47, with 2:17 to go. Asheville recorded a bucket, but with time running thin the Bulldogs had to start fouling. Rose would convert five free throws in the final minute-and-a-half to help ice the contest. Asheville scored the final four points of the game, but it was too little, too late, as Wofford claimed the 63-54 triumph.
 
The Terriers will continue their four-game homestand on Saturday with a contest against Bellarmine. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
 
"We have another big game Saturday against another tough, athletic team in Bellarmine," said Garrity of Saturday's match-up. "It's going to take another best effort for us to come away with a win."