Charleston, S.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team started the second half on a 20-4 run and never looked back, taking a 69-60 victory over NCAA Division I the College of Charleston Monday night at TD Arena and John Kresse Court. The host Cougars did not hit a field goal for the first 6:45 of the second stanza.
 
Wingate improves to 7-3 overall with a victory in its last non-conference game of the 2011-12 season. The Bulldogs return to South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday, hosting Catawba at 6 p.m. Charleston falls to 2-11 overall. The Cougars host Southern Conference foe Chattanooga Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Wingate sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) had 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots for the visitors. Bulldog senior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) posted 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Sophomore forward Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) contributed 12 points and five rebounds as Wingate shot 50 percent from the floor (17-of-34) after intermission.
 
For the host Cougars, junior forward Cathryn Hardy (Dayton, Ohio) led the way with 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals. She also committed nine of Charleston’s 25 turnovers. Cougar freshman guard Jazz Green (Darlington, S.C.) added 10 points off the bench as the Charleston reserves outscored the Wingate substitutes 30-21.
 
“In the second half, we remembered our defense,” Wingate head coach Barbara Nelson says. “I thought Simone Rutledge and Chantal Dunbar did a great job against the taller Charleston post players. We must keep working hard on the defensive end of the floor. If we do, we’ll be fine.”
 
A steal and lay-up by Burton put Wingate up 35-25 with 17:46 remaining in the contest. Seven different Bulldogs contributed points to the pivotal second half-opening 20-4 flurry. Burton and Dunbar had four points each in the run, while senior guard Tiffany Brown (Cartersville, Ga.) concluded the explosion with a steal and lay-up of her own at the 13:34 mark. The Brown hoop gave Wingate a 45-27 advantage, its largest lead of the night.
 
The 20-point run included solid inside and outside play, as freshman guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) and junior guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) both contributed a three-point field goal to the mix. On the night, Wingate outscored Charleston inside the paint (34-22), off turnovers (20-16) and on fast breaks (18-5).
 
The Bulldogs never trailed in the second half. Cougars made a late push, trimming the deficit to 64-56 on a three-point field goal by freshman forward Christy Hewatt (Cumming, Ga.) with 2:10 to play. The hosts would get no closer down the stretch.
 
In the first half, Dunbar drained two free throws to give Wingate a 23-18 edge with 3:03 to go. The Bulldogs’ five-point spread was the biggest lead for either team in the opening stanza. Green hit a triple to tie the game for the sixth and final time at 23-23 with 1:36 left. Burton converted a fast break lay-up nine seconds later to make the score 25-23 Wingate at the halftime break.
 
Burton had nine points in the first 20 minutes. Rutledge contributed eight markers. Green matched Rutledge with eight points for Charleston. Wingate shot 31.4 percent in the first half (11-of-35), while Charleston managed only 27.8 percent (10-of-36). The Bulldogs’ 50 percent second half accuracy nudged Wingate’s overall percentage to 40.6 (28-of-69).
 
Charleston outrebounded Wingate by a slim 48-45 margin. Both Hardy and sophomore center Deidre Ramer (Franklin, Tenn.) pulled down eight boards each for the Cougars. Rutledge (eight) and Burton (seven) led the Bulldog rebounding brigade. Dunbar corralled five caroms, while guards Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) and Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) contributed four rebounds each.

Newspaper Box Score
Wingate vs Coll. of Charleston
01/02/12 7 p.m. at Charleston, S.C.

WINGATE WOMEN 69, COLL. OF CHARLESTON 60
WINGATE (7-3 overall)
Burton, Nikki 6-15 4-5 16; Rutledge, Simone 7-12 0-1 14; Dunbar, Chantal 3-6 6-6 12; Wollett, Sarah 3-6 0-0 7; Logan, Tish 3-5 0-0 6; Bonner, Kelli 2-6 0-0 6; Washington, Kurie 2-5 0-2 4; Williams, Janitsha 1-8 0-1 2; Brown, Tiffany 1-3 0-0 2; Boston, Brooklyn 0-1 0-0 0; Morton, Sequoia 0-2 0-0 0; Thompson, Jakari 0-0 0-0 0; Montgomery, Jade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-69 10-15 69.
COLL. OF CHARLESTON (2-11 overall)
Hardy, Cathryn 5-9 3-4 13; Green, Jazz 4-9 0-0 10; Ramer, Deidre 4-8 0-0 8; Hopkins, Mikaela 3-6 2-4 8; Hewatt, Christy 2-6 2-2 7; Fischer, Megan 1-8 3-4 5; Harris, Latisha 2-3 0-1 4; Frye, Alyssa 1-9 0-2 3; Johnson, Brittany 0-0 1-2 1; Brown, Jillian 0-6 1-2 1. Totals 22-64 12-21 60.
Wingate.......................   25   44  -   69
Coll. of Charleston...........   23   37  -   60
3-point goals--Wingate 3-9 (Bonner, Kelli 2-4; Wollett, Sarah 1-1;
Washington, Kurie 0-1; Burton, Nikki 0-3), Coll. of Charleston 4-14 (Green, Jazz 2-5; Frye, Alyssa 1-3; Hewatt, Christy 1-2; Fischer, Megan 0-3; Brown, Jillian 0-1). Fouled out--Wingate-None, Coll. of Charleston-None. Rebounds--Wingate 45 (Rutledge, Simone 8), Coll. of Charleston 48 (Hopkins, Mikaela 9). Assists--Wingate 19 (Wollett, Sarah 4; Rutledge, Simone 4), Coll. of Charleston 15 (Brown, Jillian 10). Total fouls--Wingate 17, Coll. of Charleston 17. Technical fouls--Wingate-None, Coll. of Charleston-None. A-87
NCAA Basketball, TD Arena & John Kresse Court, Charleston, S.C.