BOX SCORE

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior guard CC Brooks (Mount Holly, N.C.) had 16 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs improve to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the SAC, while LRU falls to 5-7 overall and 2-2 in the conference. 

Junior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Freshman guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) added 11 points, while sophomore guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) chipped in with 10 points and three assists.

Sophomore guard Carolina Laughter (Hickory, N.C.) led the LRU attack with a game-high 20 points. Junior guard Cameron Sealey (Mount Holly, N.C.) added 16 points for the Bears, while freshman guard Danielle Bongiorno (Wilmington, N.C.) contributed 10 points.

A 7-0 run gave the Bears a 22-12 lead at the 11:43 mark of the first half, capped by a layup from Laughter. A three-point play from junior guard Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.), followed by a jumper from Rutledge cut the lead to three with 7:28 remaining in the stanza. Four consecutive free throws put Wingate on top with five minutes to go.

After Lenoir-Rhyne regained the lead, the ‘Dogs used a 9-0 run to take a 40-33 lead two minutes before halftime. Washington tied it with a jumper, while Williams and Wollett knocked down back-to-back triples in the spurt. Sealey knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to trim the lead to four at halftime.

A three-point play from freshman forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) gave the Bulldogs a 50-41 lead in the opening minutes of the second half. The Bears used a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead at the 13:57 mark. Sealey started the flurry with a three, while a pair of free throws from freshman forward Whitney Brinkley (Asheville, N.C.) put LRU on top. A jumper and a pair of free throws from Brooks put the ‘Dogs back on top with eight minutes remaining.

Bongiorno knocked down a three to cut Wingate’s lead to two at the 7:22 mark. A jumper from Brooks, followed by a jumper and two free throws from Dunbar pushed the lead back to eight with six minutes to go. Two more free throws from Rutledge gave the ‘Dogs their largest lead of the day at 74-64. The Bears would not go away, getting back-to-back layups from Sealey to make it a three-point game with a minute remaining. A steal and free throws from Williams pushed the lead to four with 23 seconds to go, while Rutledge added another free throw for the final margin.

Wingate shot 40.4 percent from the field, while hitting 29-of-41 shots from the free throw line (70.7 percent). The Bears shot 45.2 percent on the day, while knocking down seven-of-16 from three-point range (43.8 percent). The Bulldogs out-rebounded Lenoir-Rhyne 43-30 on the day, while converting 18 LRU turnovers into 21 points. The Wingate bench outscored the Lenoir-Rhyne bench 35-17.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, traveling to Mars Hill for a 2 p.m. start. Lenoir-Rhyne travels to Brevard for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday.