Salisbury, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team takes a six-game winning streak to first-place Catawba College (13-5 overall, 8-2 SAC) Wednesday night. The Bulldogs (13-5 overall, 7-3 SAC) are one of three teams tied for second place in the league standings. Tip-off in Catawba’s Goodman Gymnasium is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
On Saturday, Wingate hit 33-of-66 field goals and posted its third straight double-figure rebounding margin en route to a 76-66 SAC victory over Lincoln Memorial in Cuddy Arena. Wingate sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) led all scorers with 22 points. She has 20-plus points in four of Wingate’s last five games. Sophomore guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) equaled her SAC season high with 16 points, while senior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) added 13 points.
 
Catawba has won four games in a row. On Saturday, the Indians defeated visiting Carson-Newman 53-43. The Indians led 32-18 at the break and the Eagles never got closer than eight in the final 20 minutes. Senior guard Nisha Long had a game-high 20 points, while freshman guard Chloe Bully and senior forward Dana Hicks contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. Hicks led the team with seven rebounds.
 
On Jan. 4, Hicks recorded her 45th career double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds as the Indians defeated Wingate 66-59 in Cuddy Arena. Long led all scorers with 22 points. Bully contributed 19 points on the strength of a game-high four three-point field goals. Rutledge led the hosts with 10 points. She added eight rebounds as the Bulldogs won the battle of the boards 43-38. The Wingate bench outscored the Catawba substitutes 29-10.
 
Burton is this week’s SAC women’s basketball Player of the Week, league officials announced Monday. She averaged 22.5 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game as the Bulldogs won twice last week. She hit 60 percent of her field goals (15-of-25) in the two victories. Burton had her first Wingate double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds as the Bulldogs defeated Anderson 61-51 Wednesday.
 
On the season, Burton leads the Bulldogs in scoring (15.9 points per game), field goal percentage (49.1 percent), free throw percentage (82.5 percent), steals (59) and blocked shots (219). She is ranked in the SAC top 10 in each of the aforementioned categories. Burton recorded a season-high 25 points in her Bulldog debut, an 84-59 victory over Winston-Salem State on Nov. 18.
 
Williams averages 10.7 points per game with a team-high 17 three-point field goals. Senior guard Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) contributes 10.5 points per game. Rutledge adds 9.5 points per game and a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game.
 
Statistically, Long leads Catawba with her 16.9 points per game. Hicks averages a double-double with 13.8 points per game and a conference-best 11.8 rebounds per game. Bully adds 11.9 points per game and a team-best 41 three-point field goals. Catawba has hit 95 triples this season, compared to 77 for Wingate.
 
Catawba plays four of its final eight SAC games at home. Wingate will see the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena three times in its final eight league contests. The Bulldogs are 8-1 at home this season. Wingate is 5-4 on visiting courts and neutral sites. Catawba has won six SAC games in a row at home, dating to last season. Wingate leads the lifetime series between the two schools 51-30.
 
Bulldog head coach Barbara Nelson has compiled an 90-48 during her five-year tenure at Wingate. In her first season at Wingate, Nelson helped the Bulldogs advance to the 2008 Elite Eight. Wingate has made NCAA play-off appearances in two of her four seasons. Catawba head coach Angie Morton is 139-108 in nine seasons with the Indians. Her career record (including seven years at Pfeiffer) is 237-199.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a comprehensive university with more than 2,500 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. The university offers 34 undergraduate majors, 37 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 five years.
 
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 42 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 51 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.