SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior Zanoria Cruz tallied a season-high 17 points, but Western Carolina women's basketball could not overcome 14 3-pointers as Wofford picked up the 89-52 Southern Conference victory on Thursday afternoon at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
"Had some challenging situations occur as we came into the game today that we were not able to overcome. We had hoped we would rally and rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, we did not have that as a whole. We were consistently out of rhythm and positive production offensively, which put more stress in areas that got magnified as the game moved forward," commented head coach Kiley Hill. "I told our team after the game, we do not break!! We will regroup, get healthy, and prepare for battle sat at Furman."
Cruz finished with a season-best six field goals on 10 attempts and matched her career-high, connecting on three from beyond the arc. She also added four rebounds and three assists to her stat line. Tyja Beans chipped in 10 points off the bench for her sixth double-figure scoring output and fourth in the last five games.
Rachael Rose was one of five Terriers in double-figures with a game-high 23 points as she went 9-of-12 from the field and made a pair of 3-pointers. Indiya Clarke added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench as she connected on three from beyond the arc. Annabelle Schultz, Maddie Heiss, and Sara Deidda each poured in 11 points to round out the double-figure scoring for Wofford. Evangelia Paulk led Wofford on the glass with nine rebounds and eight points.
Western Carolina started fast with Thursday's first five points by Brewer and Cruz before Wofford responded with the next 10 points to take the early advantage. WCU whittled the deficit to one with four unanswered before the hosts used an 11-2 run over the final four minutes to take a 21-11 lead after the first quarter.
Wofford (14-8, 6-2 SoCon) opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to stretch its advantage to 21, 32-11 with 7:53 to play in the half. Reagan Trumm connected on a pair of threes, with Cruz adding a trey of her own as part of a 9-1 burst to cut the deficit to 13, 33-20. The Catamounts and Terriers traded baskets over the next several possessions before Wofford closed on a 13-2 run to take a 49-26 lead to the intermission.
The Catamounts started the second half with a 7-2 spurt to cut down the Terriers lead to 51-33. Wofford then went on an 18-4 run over the next 5:30 to extend its lead to 69-37. WCU scored four of the final seven points in the quarter to make it 72-41 Wofford after three quarters.
Western Carolina (6-17, 1-7 SoCon) opened the fourth quarter on a 9-5 run, which cut the margin to 77-50 before Wofford closed the game on a 12-2 run to claim the 89-52 victory.
WCU was held to 36.5% (19-of-52) shooting on Thursday, while Wofford posted a 54% (34-of-63) showing from the field. The Terriers connected on 14 threes compared to six for the Catamounts. Both teams were effective at the foul line with WCU making 8-of-9 and Wofford connecting on 7-of-10 at the stripe. The hosts controlled the glass by 12, 33-21, including grabbing 10 offensive boards, which turned into 14 second-chance points. Both teams racked up the assists, with Wofford totaling 22 and WCU finishing with 14 helpers.
The Catamounts continue in the Palmetto State on Saturday, February 10, at 2 p.m. with a trip to Greenville to battle Furman. The matchup with the Paladins will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
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