Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University athletic department and the entire Bulldog family will honor senior CC Brooks (Mount Holly, N.C.) in a post-game ceremony Wednesday night (Feb. 23, 2011) as Wingate hosts Anderson (S.C.) University. Brooks is contributing 8.0 points per game to the Bulldog cause this season.

Brooks shares the team lead in steals (35). Last year, Brooks was second on the Wingate team charts with her 8.8 points per game. Her 38 steals topped the 2009-10 Bulldog charts. As a freshman, Brooks helped lead the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

On Saturday, Wingate freshman guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) poured in a career-high 24 points off the bench, including four three-pointers, as the Bulldogs defeated the Mars Hill College Lions 84-73 in South Atlantic Conference action at Cuddy Arena. Williams led four Bulldogs in double digits.

Junior guard Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Brooks had 15 points and eight rebounds and junior guard Tiffany Brown (Cartersville, Ga.) added 13 points and five steals as Wingate (15-9 overall, 10-6 SAC) split the season series with Mars Hill. The Wingate-Mars Hill contest matched the top two offenses in the league.

Wingate led 38-30 at the half, thanks to 11 points from Brooks. The Bulldogs extended their advantage to 52-37 with 13:24 left in the second half after a pair of Brown free throws. A 24-10 Lions run trimmed the MHC deficit to 62-61 with 5:34 remaining.

With the Bulldogs clinging to a 67-65 lead with 3:28 left, Williams hit two of her four treys on back-to-back possessions to restore a sizeable lead. Wingate made eight-of-10 free throws down the stretch as the Bulldogs moved to 8-2 at home this season.

Williams leads the Bulldogs this season with 29 three-pointers. Wingate hit 11-of-20 triples Saturday (55 percent). Five different players hit a long-range jumper. Brooks, Brown and Washington hit two each to supplement Williams’ quartet of triples. Sophomore forward Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) hit a halftime buzzer-beater from 40 feet, her first three-point attempt of the season. The Bulldogs hit 12 three-pointers at Carson-Newman on March 4, 2009.

Williams broke out of her mini-slump in a huge way. She hit seven-of-11 from the field and four-of-seven from downtown Saturday. In Wingate’s previous four contests, she shot 31.6 percent from the floor (12-of-38). The Bulldogs shot at a 46.3 percent clip Saturday (25-of-54). Brooks and Williams helped Wingate hold a 43-14 advantage in bench scoring.

Wingate is 8-2 in Cuddy Arena this season. In 10 home games, Wingate is averaging 76.5 points per game. In 12 away games, the Bulldogs average 65.3 points per game. Wingate leads the South Atlantic Conference in free throw percentage (76.4), three-point field goal percentage (36.9) and field goal percentage defense (37.0).

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private comprehensive university with more than 2,300 students on two campuses in Wingate and Matthews, North Carolina. The university offers 32 undergraduate majors, 36 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, physician assistant studies and sports administration and doctorates in pharmacy and education.

Wingate students gain the tools and support they need to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. The campus community offers in-class learning, out-of-class experiences, strong mentors, a competitive yet caring environment and rewarding community service opportunities for a complete educational experience.

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 four years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 38 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 47 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.