Wingate University Athletics

Wingate sophomore guard Nikki Burton was voted the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament MVP as she and her teammates won the tournament crown and an automatic qualification to the NCAA Division II tournament. Burton led Wingate in scoring (14.0 points per game), rebounding (6.3 rebounds per game), assists (nine), steals (eight) and blocks (two) during the three-game week.

She had 16 points in a 64-58 first round victory over Anderson (S.C.) Wednesday. Burton tallied 13 points each against Carson-Newman (66-49) and Catawba (65-41) as the balanced Bulldogs won their semi-final and championship games by an average of 20.5 points per game.

Burton is ninth in NCAA (and second in SAC) with her 3.4 steals per game. The University of Louisville transfer leads the Bulldogs in scoring (14.4 points per game), field goal percentage (47.8), assists (80), blocks (29) and steals (95). She is second on the team in rebounding (5.3 rebounds per game).

On the SAC charts, Burton is eighth in scoring. She opened her Wingate career with four straight 20+ point games; Wingate is 6-2 when Burton scores 20 or more points. She scored her season-high in her Wingate debut, an 84-59 victory over Winston-Salem State (at JCSU).