Wofford 50, North Carolina Central 39

DURHAM, N.C. – Morgan Wrightson’s 18 points gave the Wofford women’s basketball team its second come-from-behind win as the Terriers rallied past North Carolina Central, 50-39, Monday night in the McDougald-McLendon Gym.

Wrightson scored 13 points in the first half as the Terriers trailed 24-22 at the half, but Wofford held NCCU to only 15 second half points to earn its second win of the season after trailing at the half.

Wrightson’s 18 points came on a 6-of-9 shooting performance from the floor.  She also made four of her five free throw attempts.  The senior guard and Wofford’s leading scorer missed only three shots all game, three from three-point range and one from the line.

Wrightson tallied seven early points for the Terriers with 13:48 left in the half as Wofford held an 11-5 lead.  Neither team would score for the next three minutes and 43 seconds until Mariah Masalin made a jumper to push the Wofford lead to 13-5 with ten minutes on the clock in the half.

Tisha Dixon made North Carolina Central’s first basket in almost eight minutes as she converted a jumper in the lane with the shot clock winding down.  The basket sparked a 5-0 Eagle run as they cut the lead down to three points 13-10 at the eight-minute mark.

The Eagles fought back and gave the game its first tie at 18 on two free throws from Brown with four minutes left in the half, and took the lead, 21-18, on a three from Montreshia Perry two minutes later.

Wofford cut the lead down to one point, 21-20, on Wrightson basket, but Perry answered for North Carolina Central with a three on the next possession.  Wrightson scored the final basket of the half on a layup as the Terriers went into the locker room down 24-22.

Michelle Merritt made the first three baskets for the Terriers to start the second half as Wofford tied the game at 28 just over three minutes into the action.  NCCU took a three point lead, 31-28, free throws from Dixon and Chasidy William, but Motley converted a jumper in the lane to send Terriers on a 9-0 run as they took a 37-31 lead with 11:25 on the clock.

Wofford defense held NCCU scoreless for almost six minutes until Tiffany Gary hit a jumper with 9:17 on the clock followed by a basket by Amber Neeley two minutes later to pull the Eagles within two points, 37-35.

Wofford answered with the next three points highlighted by a Merritt jumper to take the lead back out to eight points, 43-35, with five minutes remaining in the game.

After a free throw by Dixon and a layup by Morris, Wrightson knocked down a three from the wing to push the Wofford lead out to 12 points, 48-36, but Perry cut the lead back to single digits for the Eagles, 48-39, with a three of her own with 47 seconds left.

Rachel Brittenham converted the final two points of the game with two free throws to ice the game and give Wofford a 50-39 win.

The Terriers held the Eagles to only three points over the final seven and a half minutes of play as they earned the win.

Wofford held a 36 percent field goal percentage and limited North Carolina Central 27 percent from the floor.  The Eagles had the higher three-point field goal percentage going 36 percent from long range, while the Terriers converted only 22 percent from three.

Motley followed Wrightson with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.  Merritt and Brittenham added eight points each.  Merritt, who leads the Southern Conference in field goal percentage, was 4-of-5 from the floor.  Brittenham tallied eight assists in the game as she pulls within three assist of 400 career assists.

Dixon paced North Carolina Central with 11 points, while Williams added eight points and eight rebounds.

Wofford will open Southern Conference play with trips to Chattanooga on November at 7 p.m. and Samford on December 1 at 3 p.m. The Terriers finish their current four-game road swing at Alabama on December 17 at noon.