Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team will look to improve its lot in the South Atlantic Conference standings Saturday, hosting Tusculum College for a 2 p.m. encounter in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs are 14-7 overall and 8-5 in the SAC. The TC Pioneers are 15-6 overall and 9-4 in the SAC. Wingate is 9-1 overall at home this season.
 
Wingate exploded for a season-high 91 points Wednesday, collecting a 91-76 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne in Cuddy Arena. Wingate sweeps the season series against Lenoir-Rhyne, as Wingate All-SAC senior guard Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) notched 21 points to lead four Bulldog players in double figures.
 
Sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Tiffany Brown (Cartersville, Ga.) had 13 points and four assists, while senior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

Wingate never trailed Wednesday, taking a 57-40 lead into intermission. The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 60 percent in the first half (24-of-40). Lenoir-Rhyne managed only 32.4 percent in the first 20 minutes (12-of-37). On the evening, Wingate converted 50.7 percent from the floor, a Bulldog SAC games-only season high.
 
The Bulldogs dished out a season-high 25 assists. Sophomore forward Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) supported Burton’s generosity with five dimes. Wingate outscored Lenoir-Rhyne 48-32 in the paint. The two teams combined for 54 turnovers after pairing for the exact same number in Wingate’s 63-57 road victory on Jan. 11. Both teams had 27 miscues each Wednesday.
 
Carson-Newman edged visiting Tusculum 73-67 Wednesday night in Jefferson City, Tenn. Alishia Mosley came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points for the Pioneers. Staci Hicks scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while April McCann added nine points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals before fouling out late in the second half. The Pioneers finished the game shooting 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field but nailed eight three-pointers in 16 attempts.
 
On Jan. 7, Wingate trimmed a 20-point deficit to six in the closing minutes, only to see Tusculum prevail 79-69 in Pioneer Arena. Hicks and Kendal Baxter had 21 points each. Hicks hit nine-of-11 field goals. Washington had 15 points to lead the Wingate attack.
 
A University of Louisville transfer, Burton has placed her name in the top 10 of almost every SAC individual statistical category. She leads Wingate with her 15.6 points per game. Washington (11.1) and Williams (10.0) also contribute double-digit points per game for the Bulldogs. Rutledge tops the Wingate rebounding charts with her 6.6 caroms per game.
 
Baxter leads the Pioneers with her 15.0 points per game. She leads the SAC in three-point field goals made (62) and attempted (188). Baxter is number one on the league’s free throw percentage list, converting 92.3 percent of her charity tosses (72-of-78). Hicks contributes 12.5 points per game to the Pioneer cause. Tusculum allows only 60.6 points per game, second in the SAC to Newberry (60.5).
 
Wingate leads the series between the two teams 20-9. Tusculum has won the last three games in the series. Both teams have recent NCAA Division II Elite Eight experiences. In her first season at Wingate, Bulldog head coach Barbara Nelson helped the Bulldogs advance to the 2008 Elite Eight. She has compiled a 91-50 during her five-year tenure at Wingate. The 2011-12 season is the third for Tusculum head coach Adell Harris. In her first season, the Wake Forest grad took the Pioneers to the 2010 Elite Eight.
           
On Saturday afternoon, Wingate will partner with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to host Play 4Kay. For 2012 and beyond, the WBCA Pink Zone™ has been rebranded as Play 4Kay. The mission of the initiative, which was brought to life in 2007, will remain intact: a nation of coaches raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund™ will continue to be the official charity of the initiative.

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.
 
SATURDAY, FEB. 11, 2012
Women’s Basketball HOSTS Tusculum (2 p.m.)
Multimedia opportunities: PPV live video / Live audio / Live stats
NOTE: Union County Time Warner Cable customers can watch live on Ch. 22!