SPARTANBURG, SC - Ricaye Harris had 18 points, six assists and six steals to lead the Wofford women's basketball team to a 65-46 season-opening win over Coker tonight in the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C.

The Terriers gave Edgar Farmer a victory in his debut as a head coach. Farmer had been a Wofford assistant the previous two seasons.

Leading just 40-38 with 10:31 to play, Wofford scored the next 12 points en route to a 19-1 run to pull away. Mary Jo Yee hit a pair of 3-pointers to key the spurt which was capped by a LaToya Strong trey, giving Wofford a 59-39 advantage with 2:27 remaining.

"I could not be more proud of a group of kids," Farmer said. "They deserve every accolade. They've been through a lot the last few years and have worked diligently. My hats off to them. They deserve 100 percent of the credit."

 
The Terriers (1-0) posted their first season-opening win since a 74-71 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in the 2001-02 campaign.

Farmer is the first Wofford women's basketball coach to win a debut game since Patricia Gainey led the Terriers to a 66-47 victory over Montreat in the 1980-81 season opener. That contest also represented the first-ever Wofford women's basketball game.

The 46 points allowed by the Terriers is the lowest scoring total by an opponent since Dec. 14, 2001, when Wofford posted a 102-43 win over Limestone.

Stephanie Ripberger scored 12 points for Wofford while tying Jenny Weurding and K.C. Correll for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Weuding added four blocked shots. Nakia Mister had five steals to go with eight points.

Sara Nelson/Mondovi, WI topped the Cobras (1-1) with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Rachael Kolbeck/Santa Paula, CA had five points, 10 rebounds and five steals.

Wofford forced 28 Coker turnovers.

Trailing 27-26 at the half, the Terriers shot 41.7 percent (15-of-36) over the final 20 minutes compared to 19.4 (6-of-31) for the Cobras.

Harris and Ripberger both had five points in an early 10-0 run that gave Wofford a 12-3 lead just 3:29 into the contest. Wofford was still ahead 26-17 with 4:18 to play before the intermission, when Coker closed the half with a 10-0 run to take a 27-26 lead into the locker room.

After traveling to UNC Wilmington Monday for a 7 p.m. contest, Wofford returns home Wednesday to host Southern Virginia at 3 p.m. Coker is at Newberry Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.