Box Score

Brevard, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore guard/forward Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) hit an eight-foot bank shot at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 57-56 South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball victory over Brevard College Saturday afternoon in Boshamer Gymnasium. Washington scored Wingate's final nine points.

Washington led all scorers with 24 points as the Bulldogs improve to 14-9 overall and 7-5 in the SAC. Her buzzer-beater gave Wingate its first lead since the 15:19 mark of the first half. Brevard senior forward Samantha Winn (Candler, N.C.) led the Tornados with 15 points. Brevard is 8-14 overall and 2-9 in the SAC.

“Coach (Barbara) Nelson put together a great game plan for us…and we followed it,” Washington says. “We played as a team and kept fighting. It was an exciting victory.”

The 2009 SAC Freshman of the Year, Washington has enjoyed her first two visits to Boshamer Gymnasium. Last year, Washington tallied a (then) career-high 28 points and the Bulldogs rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to pick up a wild 94-88 victory on Jan. 17, 2009.

This year, the script was very similar. The Tornados led 46-31 following a Winn three-point field goal with 12:58 remaining. The 15-point bulge was Brevard’s largest of the evening. Two Winn free throws at the 4:14 mark made the score 52-42 Brevard.

Washington hit a jumper in the paint on the next trip down the floor. Senior center Stacie Rhodes (Knightdale, N.C.) made one-of-two free throws after a Brevard miss to make the score 52-45 with 3:12 remaining. A jumper by junior guard CC Brooks (Mount Holly, N.C.) cut the Wingate deficit to five (52-47) with 2:07 to go.

A free throw by Bulldog freshman guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) completed a 6-0 flurry and made the score 52-48 Brevard with 1:28 to play. Tornado sophomore guard Holli Flippo (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) hit one-of-two charity tosses to nudge the lead back to five.

Washington made a traditional three-point play with 57 seconds left to bring the visitors with two at 53-51. Brevard junior guard Amber Roberts (Asheville, N.C.) answered with a huge three-point field goal to put the hosts up 56-51 with 46 seconds remaining in regulation.

Washington responded with a lay-up at the 36-second plateau to make the score 56-53. Flippo missed a three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down and Washington got the rebound. She made a floater in the paint to pull Wingate within one. The Bulldogs called time-out with 1.7 seconds remaining.

The 6-4 Rhodes guarded the in-bounds pass and forced Brevard to call a time-out. The teams returned to the floor and the Tornados threw the ball away to give the Bulldogs the basketball underneath their basket.

Wollett made a perfect pass to Washington and the McDowell High School graduate went to work, converting the game-winning basket as time expired. Washington scored 20 points after intermission, making seven-of-12 field goals in the final 20 minutes.

Wingate is 9-0 overall this season when holding opponents to 59 points or less. The Bulldogs lead the SAC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.6 percent shooting. The Tornados managed only 16-of-50 shooting from the floor Saturday (32.0 percent).

The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 42-31, thanks to Rhodes’ 12 boards. The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® candidate added 10 points for her fourth double-double of the season. Wingate is 4-0 overall when Rhodes posts a double-double this season.

Washington, Brooks and freshman guard Britney Mitchell (Indian Trail, N.C.) contributed five rebounds to the Bulldog total. Wingate had 26 points in the paint, compared to six points in the lane for Brevard. Brooks matched Rhodes with 10 points Saturday.

Brevard converted 22 Wingate turnovers into 21 points. The Tornados also made 22 miscues, but the Bulldogs managed only 11 points from the mistakes. Roberts had 11 points off the bench for the hosts. She made three-of-five three-point field goals. Brevard converted eight-of-19 from three-point land for a 42.1 percent clip. Wingate made only two-of-14 triples (14.3 percent).