BOX SCORE

Newberry, S.C.----Wingate University sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) had 18 points and six steals to lead the Bulldogs to a 65-52 victory at Newberry College in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday night. The Bulldogs improve to 16-7 overall and 10-5 in the SAC. Wingate has now won nine of its last 11, and sits in second place in the league standings, one game behind first-place Catawba. The Wolves fall to 13-10 overall and 8-7 in the conference.
 
Junior forward Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Sophomore guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) also had 11 points, while senior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Freshman forward Haylee Lepaio (Bathurst, Australia) led the Wolves with 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Junior guard Neicey Lewis (Riverdale, Ga.) added seven points and five rebounds.
 
No team would lead by more than four in the opening half. A triple from Williams put Wingate on top 13-11 at the 12:48 mark. Rutledge added a bucket to give the ‘Dogs a four-point lead. A triple from freshman guard Zara Pearson (Echuca, Australia), followed by back-to-back buckets from Lepaio put the Wolves on top 18-15 at the midway point. Another Lepaio bucket gave Newberry a 23-19 lead with five minutes to go. Wingate finished the half on a 7-2 run, to take the halftime lead. Senior guard Tiffany Brown (Cartersville, Ga.) started the spurt with a three, while Burton knocked down a jumper with 43 seconds to go to give Wingate a 26-25 lead at intermission.
 
A Rutledge layup six minutes into the second half gave Wingate a 37-31 advantage. The Wolves scored the next six points, cutting Wingate’s lead to one with a three from freshman guard Emily Perry (Nambour, Australia). The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to five on buckets from Logan and Brown, while a steal and layup from Burton made it 45-38 at the 11 minute mark.
 
Wingate went on top by nine on a Burton jumper with 6:26 to go. The Wolves trimmed the lead to five on free throws from senior guard Keisha Henderson (Columbia, S.C.). Williams knocked down a jumper with 3:14 remaining to push the lead back to seven.  Burton answered a pair of Lepaio free throws with a big bucket at the 2:11 mark to make it 57-50. Burton followed by knocking down two free throws with just over a minute remaining to make it a nine-point game. Newberry would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
 
Wingate shot 41.5 percent from the field, hitting two-of-eight from three-point range (25 percent). The Wolves 34 percent from the field and hit four-of-14 shots from beyond the arc (28.6 percent). The Bulldogs out-rebounded Newberry 39-34, while holding a 14-2 edge in fast break points.
 
The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, traveling to Mars Hill for a 2 p.m. start.