Harrogate, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs trimmed a 19-point deficit to two late in the second half, but were unable to complete the comeback against Lincoln Memorial University, falling 82-73 to the Railsplitters in the South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball opener for both teams Wednesday night. LMU improves to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Wingate falls to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the SAC.

Senior guard Amberly O’Dell (Argos, Ind.) had 20 points to lead the LMU attack, hitting six-of-10 shots from three-point range. Senior guard Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, P.R.) had 14 points and six assists for the Railsplitters.

Sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) had 21 points, seven rebounds and five steals to lead the Wingate attack. Junior forward Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) added 13 points and seven boards for the Bulldogs.

LMU came out hot, taking a 21-7 lead seven minutes into the opening half. O’Dell had a pair of threes in the early spurt. A lay-up from senior guard Tiffany Brown (Cartersville, Ga.) trimmed the Wingate deficit to 12, but the Railsplitters answered with a 10-3 run to make the score 31-12. O’Dell knocked down two more threes to highlight the flurry. Jumpers from Logan and senior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) helped Wingate cut the margin to 14 at the 7:23 mark.

Lincoln Memorial pushed the lead back to 19 on a pair of free throws from junior guard Ralissa Nelson (Janesville, Wis.) with 6:08 remaining. Three free throws from sophomore forward Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) made it a 14-point game with less than five minutes to go. Burton got the Bulldogs within 13 with a lay-up two minutes later. O’Dell answered with another three, while another Burton jumper trimmed the deficit to 14 at halftime. LMU knocked down eight-of-13 threes in the opening half (61.5 percent).

LMU took a 15-point lead five minutes into the second half on a triple from O’Dell. Wingate would slowly chip away at the lead, cutting the deficit to 11 a minute later on a pair of Washington free throws. A pair of Burton free throws, along with a Rutledge jumper, put the deficit in single digits. A jumper from sophomore guard MaRanda Boddie (Springfield, Ohio) pushed the LMU lead back to 11, but back-to-back Burton buckets made it 55-48 at the 10-minute mark. Another triple pushed the Railsplitter lead back to nine, but a Burton lay-up and a Brown triple cut the margin to four with 7:21 to go.

Wingate got a lay-up from junior guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) and a three-point play from Burton to make it a two-point game at the 5:42 mark. LMU had the emphatic answer, scoring the next 10 points to push the lead back to 12. Solomon had six points and an assist in the key spurt for the Railsplitters. Wingate would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.

Lincoln Memorial shot 40.3 percent from the field on the night, while knocking down 10-of-19 shots from beyond the arc (52.6 percent). The Bulldogs shot 28.9 percent from the field, knocking down four-of-15 shots from three-point range (26.7 percent). LMU held a slim 54-52 rebounding advantage, while the Bulldogs scored 20 points from 21 Lincoln Memorial turnovers.  

Wingate returns to action Saturday, hosting Carson-Newman in the conference home opener at 2 p.m. The Railsplitters travel to Catawba Saturday for a 2 p.m. start.

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)