Aiken, S.C.----After a thrilling 64-63 victory over second seed and defending national champion Clayton State on Saturday evening, the Wingate women’s basketball team returns to the Sweet Sixteen and the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship for the first time since 2008 at 7 p.m. on Monday night in Aiken, S.C.
 
Standing in the way of the Bulldogs and their second Elite Eight visit in five seasons are the Lander University Bearcats. The Bearcats are making their third straight regional final appearance after a 61-55 triumph over top seed and tournament host USC Aiken.
 
The Bulldogs saw a 58-51 lead with just over four minutes to go vanish with less than a minute to play against the NCAA number six Lakers on Saturday. Clayton State tied the game at 60 with a layup by Keona Dixon with 55 seconds to play. With 25 seconds left, sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) was fouled and sank both of her free throws to give the Bulldogs a 62-60 lead, but Clayton State took a one-point lead with 10 seconds to play on a three-pointer by Drameka Griggs.
 
Following a Bulldog timeout, Burton went the length of the court to score what would become the game winning shot with four seconds left. A last-second attempt by Clayton State missed. Burton led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Senior forward Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.) had 15 points. Classmate Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) had 13 points, all in the first half.
 
Entering Saturday’s second semifinal, Lander had lost both meetings to USC Aiken, but the Bearcats made a late second-half charge to reclaim the lead and record the victory. Senior guard Brittni Johnson (Athens, Ga.) led Lander with 24 points. Classmate and backcourt mate Jasmine Judge (Augusta, Ga.) contributed 12 points.
 
Monday night’s meeting will be the second of the season, as Wingate claimed a 70-67 victory on Dec. 29 as part of the Hertiage Bank Holiday Classic hosted by Clayton State. The Bulldogs were led by sophomore guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) and her 21 points. Three sophomores combined for 49 points in the neutral-court triumph, as Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) scored a career-high 16 points, while Burton completed the sophomore double-figure trio with 12 points.
 
The Bulldogs led for much of the game, but needed a pair of free throws by Washington to erase a 64-63 deficit with 2:24 to play. Lander cut the lead to a point with two seconds to play, but a pair of free throws by Williams sealed the victory.
 
Although Lander has appeared in the past two Southeast Regional finals, they have come up empty in both games. In 2010, the Bearcats were upset on their home court by SAC member Tusculum 70-63. Last season, Clayton State defeated the Bearcats 76-60 to win the Southeast Regional crown on their home court. Lander’s eight seniors are 99-26 entering Monday’s game. All-time, Wingate holds a 5-2 series advantage over the Bearcats.
 
The 2012 NCAA Division II Elite Eight will be played March 20-23 in San Antonio, Texas. Wingate junior Jecia Anderson graduated from J.P. Stevens High School in San Antonio. Anderson is the only Lone Star State player from either team, as all but one of Lander’s squad hails from Georgia.
 
Coaching Match-up

Wingate head coach Barbara Nelson and Lander head coach Kevin Pederson have squared off four previous times, with Nelson holding a 3-1 advantage. Nelson’s three wins have come in the regular season, with Lander ending the 2010-11 Wingate campaign in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
 
Nov. 17, 2007: Wingate 95, Lander 86 (Cuddy Arena, Wingate N.C.)
Dec. 19, 2007: Wingate 87, Lander 85 (Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C.)
March 11, 2011: Lander 86, Wingate 57 (Morrow, Ga. - NCAA tournament)
Nov. 29, 2012: Wingate 70, Lander 67 (Morrow, Ga. - Heritage Bank Holiday Classic)
 
The Wingate women’s basketball team presented Nelson with her 100th victory at the Bulldog helm Friday night as Wingate earned a 64-59 triumph over Barton in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional tournament. In her five seasons, Nelson’s teams have compiled an overall record of 101-50 (53-30 in the South Atlantic Conference).
 
Nelson has led Wingate to two Food Lion SAC tournament crowns (2008, 2012) and one SAC regular season title (2012). In her first Bulldog season, Wingate advanced to the 2007-08 NCAA Division II Elite Eight as champions of the South Atlantic Region. The Bulldogs completed the 2007-08 season as the 10th-ranked team in the country, according to the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA NCAA Division II top 25 coaches’ poll.
 
Prior to joining the Wingate family, Nelson was the head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Providence Day School in Charlotte. She compiled a 437-176 record with seven NCISAA state championships in 21 seasons with the Chargers. PDS was named the Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 champions five times. In addition, Providence Day won the CISAA basketball conference crown nine times under Nelson’s watch. 
 
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.
 
(Wingate University senior sports information student assistant Steven Grandy contributed this article. A Sport Management major from Raleigh, N.C., Grandy won the District III Athlete Profile portion of the CoSIDA Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest in 2010.)