BOX SCORE

Wingate, N.C.----Carson-Newman College senior guard Katlin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C.) scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Eagle women’s basketball team to a thrilling 87-83 South Atlantic Conference victory over Wingate University Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena.

With the victory, Carson-Newman improves to 10-12 overall and 6-6 in the SAC. The Eagles have won four consecutive contests. Wingate sees a five-game winning streak end Saturday. The Bulldogs are 13-7 overall and 8-4 in the SAC. Wingate loses its first home game of the 2010-11 season as the second-place Bulldogs are 7-1 overall in the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena.

Moore filled up her statistics ledger with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. She hit 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. C-N senior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) had 17 points, six assists, four rebounds and three blocked shots. Eagle junior forward Zoriah Williams (Calera, Ala.) had a double-double with 11 points and and a game-high 16 rebounds.

Wingate junior guard Tiffany Brown (Cartersville, Ga.) had 17 points to lead the Bulldogs. She pulled down six rebounds. Classmate Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) had 15 points, converting eight-of-eight from the foul line. Bulldog junior forward Simone Rutledge had 14 points on six-of-eight accuracy from the field, while senior guard CC Brooks (Mount Holly, N.C.) contributed 12 points and four assists in a reserve role.

The Bulldogs opened the second half on fire, hitting five of their first seven shot attempts to go on an 11-0 run. Rutledge finished the flurry with a jumper at the 17:12 mark to give Wingate a 44-39 lead. C-N bounced back to regain the lead with a 10-2 run, as Mendenhall drilled a three-pointer to give the Eagles a 49-46 advantage with 13:52 to play.

Wingate turned a 55-55 deadlock into a 68-60 bulge, thanks to a 13-5 spurt. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) capped the run and gave the host Bulldogs their biggest lead of the contest.

Carson-Newman heated up down the stretch and put together a 24-6 run to take control of the game. Moore drained a three-pointer with 2:10 remaining to give the Eagles an 84-74 lead, their biggest of the game. Wingate was unable to pull any closer than four points the rest of the way.

In the first half, the Eagles built a17-9 lead by the 12:29 mark. Wingate went on a 13-7 run, finished by an old-fashioned three-point play from freshman forward Shey Brown (Rockingham, N.C.). Brown’s effort trimmed Carson-Newman’s lead to 24-22 with 5:14 remaining. Moore sank a pair of free throws with 59 seconds remaining to give the visitors a 39-33 advantage heading into the locker room.

Thanks to Williams’ monster effort, Carson-Newman won the rebounding battle 47-41. Wingate freshman forward Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) led the Bulldogs with seven boards in only 14 minutes. Tiffany Brown and sophomore forward Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) had six rebounds each for the hosts.

The contest featured five ties and 11 lead changes. Carson-Newman shot 43.5 percent from the floor (30-of-69), while Wingate converted 41.2 percent of its field goal attempts (28-of-68). The Eagles hit seven triples in 20 attempts (35 percent). The Bulldogs managed only three triples in 13 tries (23.1 percent).

C-N had 23 fast-break points, compared to only 12 for the Bulldogs. The Eagles blocked nine Bulldog shots Saturday. Freshman forward Shannon Depew (Newport, Tenn.) recorded four rejections. She added eight points and four rebounds in only 14 minutes.

Wingate hits the road for its next two contests, as the Bulldogs visit Lenoir-Rhyne University Wednesday night at 6 p.m. to start the swing. Carson-Newman returns to action on Wednesday at rival Tusculum College. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

(Special thanks to Carson-Newman assistant SID Justin Holt for his contributions to this article.)