Charlotte, N.C.----Johnson C. Smith University survived a spirited Wingate University rally to collect a 73-72 NCAA Division II women’s basketball victory Saturday night in the Queen City Classic at Brayboy Gymnasium. The JCSU Golden Bulls had three players hit 16 points each.
 
Johnson C. Smith improves to 4-0 overall, while Wingate evens its record at 1-1 overall. The Bulldogs host UNC Pembroke Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The Golden Bulls hit the road for Thanksgiving, facing Florida Tech in Winter Park, Fla. Friday at 3 p.m.
           
Senior guards Terran Quattlebaum (Mitchellville, Md.) and LaQwesha Gamble (Winter Haven, Fla.) and sophomore center Racquel Davis (Bamberg, Germany) scored 16 points each for the host Golden Bulls. Davis (17 rebounds) and Gamble (11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles. Johnson C. Smith outrebounded Wingate 49-37.
 
Wingate sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) topped the Bulldog charts with 21 points. Senior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) added 12 points, while junior guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) contributed 10 points for the visitors.
 
Two free throws by Gamble put Johnson C. Smith up 59-48 with 10:46 remaining in the second half. In the next two-plus minutes, Wingate freshman forward Brooklyn Boston (Lenoir, N.C.) went on a personal crusade, scoring three baskets around a Burton hoop to cut the Bulldog deficit to 62-56 with 8:08 to play.
 
All total, the Bulldogs made a 17-6 run to tie the contest 65-65 on a Burton lay-up at the 3:07 mark. Davis answered with two free throws and Rutledge responded with an inside basket to make the score 67-67 with 2:34 to go. Gamble made a free throw at 2:12 to break the tie, followed by four consecutive charity tosses by senior teammate Shavonda Price (Fort Wayne, Ind.).
 
Price’s final pair of free throws made the margin 72-67 with 1:53 to play. The Bulldogs weren’t finished, as Burton nailed a downtown jumper with 25 seconds left to cut the deficit to 72-70. Gamble made another free throw to give the Golden Bulls a three-point edge with 16 seconds to play. Rutledge converted a lay-up with three seconds remaining for the final margin.
 
The taller Bulldogs held a 44-34 advantage in points in the paint. Wingate scored 31 points off 26 JCSU turnovers, while the hosts collected 21 points from 22 Bulldog miscues. Davis and the Golden Bull bench outscored the Wingate reserves 20-12.
 
Johnson C. Smith shot 38.1 percent from the floor (24-of-63), while Wingate hit 42.9 percent (30-of-70). Quattlebaum hit four of Smith’s six triples. Burton and Wollett hit two long-distance jumpers each for Wingate. Bulldog junior forward Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) barely missed a double-double with nine points and a team-best nine rebounds. Burton added six steals and six rebounds to her statistical ledger.
           
In the first half, Quattlebaum scored 13 points to help the Golden Bulls take a 41-32 lead at intermission. JCSU shot 48.5 percent in the opening frame on 16-of-33 accuracy. Wingate took the same number of shots, converting 14 (42.4 percent). Burton had 11 first-half points, while Wollett contributed seven points for the Bulldogs.