Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Wednesday night, hosting Catawba College for a South Atlantic Conference contest. The Bulldogs are 9-9 overall and 3-5 in the SAC. The Catawba Indians are 9-7 overall and 5-3 in the league.
 
The game will signify the conclusion of the first half of the SAC regular season. The Bulldogs play the Indians twice in the first swing; Catawba won the first encounter 68-60 over number 22 Wingate at Goodman Gymnasium on Wednesday, Nov. 28. Bulldog junior guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) led the visitors with 18 points. Senior backcourt mate Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) added 17 points, while junior forward Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) pulled down 12 rebounds.
 
Catawba sophomore guard Chloe Bully and senior forward Elizabeth Merritt combined for 40 points. Bully led all scorers with 21 points, while Merritt posted 19 markers. Bully added six assists, four rebounds and three steals to her statistics ledger. Catawba turned 14 Wingate turnovers into 18 points. The Bulldogs’ 18 offensive rebounds led to 14 second-chance points.
 
Wingate outrebounded Catawba 45-32, thanks to Dunbar’s 12 boards and eight rebounds from senior forward Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.). Catawba junior forward Antoinette McPhail had 13 rebounds and 10 points for her third consecutive double-double. McPhail is third in the SAC with her 8.8 rebounds per game. Dunbar leads the league with 9.8 rebounds per game.
 
The Bulldogs dropped a tough 65-56 SAC decision at Lincoln Memorial Saturday. Wollett had 13 points for Wingate. Williams and Dunbar contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Bulldogs were three-of-10 from the free throw line. Lincoln Memorial was 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe. Wingate sophomore forward Brooklyn Boston (Lenoir, N.C.) had three blocked shots for Wingate. Boston filled out her statistics ledger with six points and four rebounds in her 19 minutes.
 
Catawba has won five of its last seven games. On Saturday, the Indians earned a 66-58 SAC triumph at Carson-Newman. Reigning SAC Player of the Week Merritt scored 25 points to give Catawba its first league road win of the season. Bully had 17 markers, while senior guard Quaneasia Coleman chipped in 13 points. Merritt added seven rebounds and three steals, while Bully handed out four assists and collected four steals. 
 
The Bulldogs are 6-3 overall at home this season. Wollett, Logan and senior classmate Jecia Anderson (San Antonio, Texas) are 34-11 overall at home during their four-year Wingate careers. The trio experienced five home losses as freshmen; they’ve lost only six home contests since. Catawba won two-of-three from Wingate last season, including a 66-59 decision at Wingate Jan. 4, 2012.
 
Wingate has four players in double-figures, led by Williams and her 13.3 points per game. She is followed by Wollett (11.8), freshman forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C., 10.9) and Dunbar (10.6). The Bulldogs lead the SAC with their +6.9 rebounding margin. Dunbar is second in the SAC with her seven double-doubles this season. Bully (15.6 points per game) and Merritt (14.1) are both listed on the SAC top 10 scoring charts. McPhail (11.8) joins her teammates as a double-figure scorer.
 
Wingate University will join the 27th annual celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) at halftime of the Bulldog men’s basketball game versus Catawba. Sponsored by the WU School of Sport Sciences, the theme for this year’s NGWSD celebration is “Girls in Sports, an Investment in the Future.” Student-athletes from each team will be escorted to the center court for recognition. One student-athlete will be honored with a plaque as the Wingate University NGWSD Award winner. 
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University, ranked as the 6th “best value” in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves nearly 2,700 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past six years.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000’s with 52 selections. Among North Carolina’s colleges and universities, Wingate’s 52 Academic All-America® honorees are tied for first (with Duke University) during this millennium. Wingate’s 61 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.