SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- The Chattanooga women's basketball team fell behind early at Wofford Thursday night, dropping a 76-53 decision to the Terriers in Southern Conference action at the Richardson Indoor Stadium despite a second-half push.
 
After getting down 40-16 at intermission, the Mocs came back in the second, edging Wofford in the half.
 
"I asked them in the huddle before we broke, why did we not start out with the same energy and fight at the tip that we did in the second half?" Chattanooga head coach Katie Burrows said. "We missed an opportunity today and so now we've got to very quickly figure out what adjustments we can make."
 
Chattanooga couldn't connect on a bucket early, trailing 10-7 following a pair of free throws from Amaria Pugh at the 4:09 mark. Terrier Sydnee Richetto fired off the first of her three 3-pointers with 3:27 remaining in the first, sparking a 25-2 run that stretched over 10 minutes through two periods. It was capped off by five points from Jackie Carman to make it a 35-9 lead for Wofford with 3:42 to play in the half.
 
The second half would see the Mocs bounce back, going toe-to-toe with Wofford. UTC started the third quarter with a 9-0 run to pull within 17 at 42-25 at the 7:38 mark of the period. The Terriers, stopped the Mocs momentum and went on to lead 57-31 headed into the final period.
 
The fourth was the best for the Mocs. UTC was 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the field with two of its three 3-pointers and outscored Wofford 22-19. Karsen Murphy dropped in a couple of 3-pointers in the frame and led UTC with 10 points in the final period.
 
"I was proud of Karsen," Burrows said. "She came in and stepped up big. She's been waiting for her opportunity and she seized it today."
 
Abbey Corenlius led all scorers with 14 points and grabbed three rebounds, two on the offensive end. Murphy was 4-of-4 with a pair of treys for 10 points in just less than eight minutes on the court. Amaria Pugh, 7-of-8 from the free throw line added nine points, three rebounds and three assists. Sigrun Olafsdottir had a team-best seven rebounds and four assists with a pair of steals.
 
The Mocs shot 15-of-51 for the night and were 3-of-20 from deep. It was free throws that kept them in the game, making 20-of-26, the most from the stripe this season.
 
Wofford outdueled UTC 32-14 in the paint and 16-4 on second chance points. On the boards, the Terriers pulled down 42 rebounds to Chattanooga's 27.
 
Annabelle Schultz led Wofford with 12 points, all from the 3-point line while Richetto and Lilly Hatton each had 11 and Carman was fourth Terrier in double digits with 10 points. Hatton just missed a double-double with nine rebounds while Reagan Rapert had a game-best six assists.
 
Chattanooga falls to 6-15 overall and 4-2 in SoCon play while the Terriers improve to 9-10 on the year and 4-1 against the league. Chattanooga will remain on the road to take on Furman (10-9 3-2 SoCon) Saturday afternoon.