Hickory, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team outscored Carson-Newman College 43-24 in the second half, as the Bulldogs defeated the Eagles 69-57 in the semifinals of the 2011 Food Lion SAC tournament Saturday afternoon in the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Complex. Second-seeded Wingate improves to 19-9 overall; the Bulldogs will face the top-seeded Tusculum College Pioneers in the championship game Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Carson-Newman concludes its season 14-16 overall.

Senior guard CC Brooks (Mount Holly, N.C.) had game highs of 16 points and four assists to lead the Wingate attack. Junior guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) added 11 points, while freshman guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) had nine points and six rebounds. All nine players for Wingate had at least one rebound Saturday, while eight grabbed at least four boards. Junior All-SAC guard Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) had eight points, four rebounds and three steals.

Senior All-SAC guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) had 11 points to lead the Carson-Newman attack. SAC Freshman of the Year Shannon Depew (Newport, Tenn.) added 10 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Candis Clear (Memphis, Tenn.) also had 10 points for the Eagles.

Carson-Newman used a 6-0 run, getting back-to-back threes from Clear, to take a 26-14 lead at the 5:17 mark of the first half. Wingate scored the next eight points to cut the deficit to four. Williams started the spurt with a pair of buckets, while Brooks capped it with a lay-up at the 2:58 mark. The Eagles answered with seven consecutive points, taking a 33-22 lead with 1:11 remaining in the half on a lay-up from sophomore forward Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.). Wollett knocked down a triple at the buzzer to cut the Carson-Newman lead to 33-26 at halftime.

A lay-up from junior forward Zoriah Williams (Calera, Ala.) put the Eagles back on top by 12 two minutes into the second half. The ‘Dogs had the emphatic answer, scoring 11 straight points to cut the deficit to one. Freshman guard Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) had a pair of buckets in the flurry, while Wollett sealed the deal with a triple at the 13:45 mark. Wingate took its first lead of the game on a lay-up from freshman forward Shey Brown (Rockingham, N.C.) with 11:26 to go. The Brown hoop gave Wingate a 43-42 edge.

The Eagles regained the lead on a layup from Miles, but the Bulldogs put together another big run, scoring nine straight points to take a 52-44 lead at the 7:25 mark. Washington had five points in the spurt, including a three to cap it. Carson-Newman trimmed the lead back to five on a three from Mendenhall, but Wingate answered with a jumper and a triple from Brooks to take a 10-point lead at the 2:54 mark. The lead would remain in double figures the rest of the way, with the Bulldogs knocking down eight-of-10 free throw shots in the final 2:23.

Wingate shot 30.7 percent from the field, while shooting 37.1 percent in the second half. The Bulldogs heated up after a cold start, in which they hit on one of their first 13 shots from the field. Carson-Newman shot 35 percent from the field, but was held to 30 percent shooting in the second half. The Bulldogs held a 53-43 rebounding advantage and a 28-16 edge in points in the paint. Wingate converted 18 Carson-Newman turnovers into 17 points, while outscoring the Eagles 14-2 in fast break points.

The Bulldogs will make their first trip to the SAC championship game since the 2007-08 season, when they defeated Tusculum 76-74 to claim their sixth Food Lion SAC tournament title. Wingate rode the championship momentum through the regionals, advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the third time in school history.

(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.)