Mars Hill, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team hits the road Wednesday, venturing to Mars Hill College for a 6 p.m. South Atlantic Conference contest. The Bulldogs enter tonight’s game with 199 SAC victories (lifetime), tops in the nine-team league.

The Bulldogs are in the middle of a four-games-in-eight-days stretch. On Monday night, NCAA Division I Charleston Southern rallied for a 62-59 victory over the visiting Bulldogs. Wingate’s four non-conference losses this season have been by a combined 16 points.

Wingate sophomore guard/forward Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) led the Bulldogs with 13 points Monday. She filled out her statistics ledger with five rebounds and three assists. Bulldog junior guard CC Brooks (Mount Holly, N.C.) had 11 points, while senior center Stacie Rhodes (Knightdale, N.C.) posted nine points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists.

The game featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes. Charleston Southern led 58-49 with 6:53 remaining. Wingate freshman forward Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 58-57 with 2:02 to go, capping an 8-0 run for the Bulldogs. Rhodes contributed two huge blocked shots to the flurry.

CSU converted a follow shot to go up 60-57 at the 1:13 plateau. Wingate answered, as Brooks hit two free throws with 1:02 to cut the deficit to one. The Bucs hit an inside hoop with 37 seconds left to account for the final margin.

Brooks and Logan missed chances to pull the Bulldogs within one in the waning seconds. Wingate was forced to foul, but Charleston Southern missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11 seconds remaining. CSU got the offensive rebound, but Brooks stole the ball with two seconds to go. Wingate could not get a potential game-tying shot as time expired.

Wingate hit 33.3 percent of its shots from the floor (17-of-51). The Bulldogs converted six-of-14 three-point field goals (42.9 percent), while making 19-of-24 free throws (79.2 percent). Wingate held a slim 42-41 rebounding edge. The Bulldog reserves outscored the CSU bench 26-8.

Charleston Southern made 24-of-66 field goals for 36.4 percent. The Bucs shot 20.7 percent from three-point land (six-of-29). CSU managed only 50 percent shooting from the charity stripe (eight-of-16). The Buccaneers converted 25 Bulldog turnovers into 23 points. Wingate scored 22 points off 19 CSU turnovers.

In the first half, Wingate led 34-25 when senior guard Sarah Rosser (Raleigh, N.C.) nailed a three-point field goal with 1:36 left in the opening frame. The Bucs finished the half on a 6-0 run to cut the CSU deficit to 34-31 at intermission. Washington led Wingate with 11 first-half points.

Four Bulldogs scored in double figures and the Wingate defense held Brevard to 17.7 percent shooting from the field to secure an 82-56 victory in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. Rhodes had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Wingate attack. Washington and junior forward Stefani Shuey (Charlotte, N.C.) added 13 points each, while freshman guard Britney Mitchell (Indian Trail, N.C.) contributed a career-high 12 points. Sophomore guard Stephanie Whitenack (West Chester, Ohio) handed out a game-high eight assists for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs knocked down 11 free throws in the final nine minutes to secure the victory. The two teams combined to shoot 88 free throws in the game, with Brevard hitting 32-of-47 and Wingate canning 29-of-41.

The Bulldogs shot 42.4 percent from the field and converted 19 Brevard turnovers into 18 points. The Bulldogs outscored the Tornados 34-14 in the paint and 17-2 in fast break points. Wingate also held a decisive 57-42 rebounding advantage on the afternoon.

Carson-Newman topped Wingate University 78-68 Wednesday night in Holt Fieldhouse on the Carson-Newman campus. The Eagles are the number 10 team in the NCAA Division II top 25 poll.

For Wingate, Rhodes and Washington posted 13 points each. Rhodes hit six-of-six shots from the floor Wednesday. Brooks had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Shuey contributed 10 points on five-of-six shooting.

Wingate swept the season series against Mars Hill last year. On Feb. 18, 2009, Washington posted a team-high 25 points as the visiting Bulldogs topped the Lions 79-64 in Stanford Arena.

The 2009 SAC Freshman of the Year, Washington had 16 first-half points as Wingate led 51-22 at intermission. Point guard Anna Atkinson (class of 2009) contributed 17 points, five steals and four assists for the Bulldogs. Shuey added 11 markers.

On Jan. 21, 2009, Brooks poured in a (then) career-high 23 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 84-75 overtime victory over the Lions in Cuddy Arena. Brooks was seven-of-10 from the field, while going nine-for-11 from the free throw line. She also added five steals for the Bulldogs.

Atkinson filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, 10 assists, seven steals and six rebounds. Shuey added 12 points, while Rhodes contributed eight points and eight boards. Wingate took control in the overtime, scoring the first seven points to go on top 80-73.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.