Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team earned its 11th South Atlantic Conference regular season title Saturday, taking the crown with a 58-50 victory over Brevard College Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. Wingate (19-7 overall, 13-5 SAC) never trailed as the Bulldogs swept the season series with the visiting Brevard Tornados (6-20 overall, 1-17 SAC).
Senior guard
Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) and sophomore guard
Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) scored 14 points each for the victorious Bulldogs. Brevard had three players reach double figures. Tornado junior guard
Michaela Watkins (Forest City, N.C.) led all scorers with 16 points. Senior guards
Lindsay Brendle (High Point, N.C.) and
Anna Schlobohm (Greensboro, N.C.) added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Only three other BC players found the scoring column Saturday.
“We are very excited to win the SAC regular season title outright,” Wingate head coach
Barbara Nelson says. “We have traveled a long road since our 1-3 start (in league play). I am happy we hung in there…we continued to fight…and now we have a championship.”
Wingate had 26 second-chance points Saturday, compared to zero for Brevard. The Bulldogs corralled 24 offensive rebounds, while the Tornados pulled down nine. A three-pointer by Washington gave Wingate a 17-7 lead with 9:26 to play in the first half. Brendle converted a lay-up to cut the deficit to eight, but the visitors would get no closer in the first half.
The Bulldogs responded with a 10-0 run, taking a 27-9 advantage on two Washington free throws at the 4:04 mark. Wingate settled for a 33-21 lead at intermission, thanks to eight points each by Williams and senior guard
Tiffany Brown (Cartersville, Ga.). Washington added seven first-half markers. Schlobohm had 10 points to lead Brevard’s first-half efforts.
The Tornados made a push in the second half, thanks in large part to the cold-shooting Bulldogs. Wingate shot 10.7 percent in the second stanza (three-of-28) after a 37.5 percent effort in the first frame (12-of-32). The Bulldogs’ saving grace was the charity stripe, as Wingate hit 19-of-25 free throws in the second half (76 percent).
Brevard started the second half with a 12-4 flurry, concluded by a Watkins triple with 12:13 to play in the contest. The Catawba Valley Community College transfer had eight of Brevard’s 12 points during the run, with Brendle contributing the other four as the Tornados cut their deficit to 37-33.
Wingate answered with another 10-0 spurt, padding the Bulldog margin to 47-33 on two Washington free throws with 8:02 to go. Brevard made another move, scoring 10 of the next 12 points to pull within six (49-43) on an old-fashioned three-point play by Watkins at the 2:17 mark.
The Tornados could not get over the hump, as Wingate junior forward
Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) scored the Bulldogs’ final field goal 24 seconds later on a feed from sophomore guard
Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.). Washington converted two-of-two free throws following a Brevard technical foul at 1:28, pushing the Wingate lead to 52-43. Brevard would get no closer than the final margin down the stretch.
All total, Wingate hit seven-of-10 free throws in the final 88 seconds to keep Brevard at bay. The Bulldogs shot 79.3 percent (23-of-29) from the charity stripe Saturday. The Tornados converted 12-of-15 charity tosses (80 percent).
Wingate outrebounded Brevard 50-33, thanks to eight rebounds each by Williams and Burton. Logan contributed seven boards. Schlobohm had nine rebounds for the visitors. BC senior guard
Holli Flippo (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) pulled down seven caroms.
The Bulldogs begin Food Lion SAC tournament play Wednesday, hosting Anderson (S.C.) University at 6 p.m. The tournament semi-finals are Saturday, with the championship game slated for Sunday. The Food Lion SAC final four will be held at the CVCC Multi-purpose Complex in Hickory.
Wingate has won 11 SAC regular season crowns and six Food Lion SAC tournament championships. The Bulldogs finished second in the league standings last year. Wingate leads the SAC with 11 appearances in the NCAA Division II national tournament. Wingate has an overall NCAA tourney record of 14-11 with Elite Eight appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2008.
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Newspaper Box Score
Brevard vs Wingate
02/25/12 2 p.m. at Wingate, N.C.
WINGATE WOMEN 58, BREVARD 50
BREVARD (6-20 overall; 1-17 SAC)
Watkins, Micheala 5-8 5-7 16; Brendle, Lindsay 6-17 1-1 13; Schlobohm, Anna 4-10 2-2 12; Poole, Katelynne 2-3 0-0 5; Singletary, Lacey 0-1 2-2 2; Hiatt, Taylor 0-1 2-2 2; Cutshaw, Alyssa 0-1 0-1 0; Watkins, Asheley 0-3 0-0 0; Flippo, Holli 0-6 0-0 0; Fritz, Candice 0-0 0-0 0; Mack, Tempestt 0-0 0-0 0; McJunkin, Chezney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-50 12-15 50.
WINGATE (19-7 overall; 13-5 SAC)
Washington, Kurie 1-9 11-12 14; Williams, Janitsha 5-12 2-2 14; Burton, Nikki 3-9 2-2 8; Brown, Tiffany 3-7 0-0 8; Rutledge, Simone 1-9 5-6 7; Logan, Tish 1-2 2-3 4; Bonner, Kelli 1-3 0-0 2; DeBerry, Jasmine 0-0 1-2 1; Burnick, Sarah 0-0 0-2 0; Anderson, Jecia 0-1 0-0 0; Boston, Brooklyn 0-1 0-0 0; Wollett, Sarah 0-4 0-0 0; Thompson, Jakari 0-1 0-0 0; Weekly, Cayleigh 0-0 0-0 0; Dunbar, Chantal 0-2 0-0 0; Montgomery, Jade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-60 23-29 58.
Brevard....................... 21 29 - 50
Wingate....................... 33 25 - 58
3-point goals--Brevard 4-24 (Schlobohm, Anna 2-6; Poole, Katelynne 1-2; Watkins, Micheala 1-4; Cutshaw, Alyssa 0-1; Watkins, Asheley 0-2; Flippo, Holli 0-5; Brendle, Lindsay 0-4), Wingate 5-13 (Brown, Tiffany 2-3; Williams, Janitsha 2-4; Washington, Kurie 1-2; Bonner, Kelli 0-1; Wollett, Sarah 0-1; Burton, Nikki 0-2). Fouled out--Brevard-Flippo, Holli, Wingate-None. Rebounds--Brevard 33 (Schlobohm, Anna 9), Wingate 50 (Williams, Janitsha 8; Burton, Nikki 8). Assists--Brevard 6 (Flippo, Holli 4), Wingate 10 (Burton, Nikki 4). Total fouls--Brevard 22, Wingate 18. Technical fouls--Brevard-Flippo, Holli; Watkins, Micheala, Wingate-None. A-521
WU wins regular season SAC title; 'Dogs are #1 seed for SAC tourney
Wingate hosts #8 seed Anderson (S.C.) Wednesday, Feb. 29 (6 p.m.)
