Box Score

Wingate, N.C.----Reigning South Atlantic Conference women's basketball Player of the Week Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C.) had 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and one steal in 22 minutes, leading the Wingate University women's basketball team to a 61-51 league victory over Lenoir-Rhyne University Tuesday night in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Three Bulldogs had double-digit points, while sophomore forward Sharee Boyd (Charlotte, N.C.) pulled down a game-high (and career-high) 10 rebounds to go with her nine markers.
 
With the victory, Wingate improves to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the SAC. Lenoir-Rhyne is 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the SAC. Both teams take a Thanksgiving break; the Bulldogs return to action Saturday, hosting Belmont Abbey College for a 2 p.m. Southeast Region match-up. The L-R Bears visit Brevard College for a SAC encounter Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m.
 
Harris was six-for-eight from the floor Tuesday, scoring 13 of her 14 points after halftime as the Bulldogs shot 57.1 percent after intermission (12-of-21). Boyd did everything but sell popcorn at halftime, as she had three assists and two blocked shots to go with her (almost) double-double. Wingate senior guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) had 13 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) contributed 10 points and five boards.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne junior guard Jenni Gust (Colfax, Wis.) led all scorers with 17 points. She hit seven-of-15 from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds. Classmate Jazmine Charles (Lexington, N.C.) had 10 points, eight rebounds and five steals, while freshman forward Morgan Cooper (Virginia Beach, Va.) added 10 points off the L-R bench.
 
Wingate led 25-23 at the halftime break, thanks to seven points and four rebounds by McGee. Gust had nine points to lead the Bears' first-half efforts. A Gust jumper on a Danielle Bongiorno (Wilmington, N.C.) assist gave L-R its final lead at 29-28 with 18:08 left in the contest. A Williams fast-break hoop from an Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) dish put Wingate up for good 30-29 two possessions later.
 
A McGee free throw nudged Wingate's lead to 39-32 at the 11:44 mark. Gust and Charles hit back-to-back hoops for the Bears, cutting the deficit to 39-36 one minute later. Neely hit a lay-up on a Boyd assist to make the score 41-36 at the 9:46 plateau.
 
The Bears cut the Bulldog margin to two on two occasions down the stretch, but the visitors could not get the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. A Cooper inside jumper made the score 43-41 with six minutes to go. Williams responded in a big way, nailing a three-point field goal from the left corner 30 seconds later to push Wingate's lead back to five.
 
A Gust jumper on a Cooper feed made the score 48-45 Wingate with 3:53 left to play, but the Bears would get no closer down the stretch. Lenoir-Rhyne made only one field goal the rest of the way. Wingate's 10-point final margin was the Bulldogs' largest lead of the rainy evening.
 
The Bulldogs shot 48.9 percent from the floor Tuesday (22-of-45). The Bears managed only 27.3 percent (18-of-66), including 25 percent after halftime (10-of-40). Gust shot 46.7 percent, while her teammates shot 21.6 percent (11-of-51). Wingate outrebounded Lenoir-Rhyne 42-39 as the Bulldogs pulled down 35 defensive rebounds.
 
Wingate had 34 points in the paint, compared to 24 for L-R. The Bears scored 22 points off 27 Bulldog turnovers, while Wingate scored 10 points from 18 L-R miscues. Lenoir-Rhyne had 13 second-chance points to zero for Wingate. The Bulldog bench outscored the Bear reserves 17-10.

Newspaper Box Score
Lenoir-Rhyne vs Wingate
11/26/13 4 p.m. at Wingate, N.C.

WINGATE WOMEN 61, LENOIR-RHYNE 51
LENOIR-RHYNE (4-2 overall, 1-2 SAC)
Gust, Jenni 7-15 2-3 17; Cooper, Morgan 3-7 4-8 10; Charles, Jazmine 5-19 0-0 10; Bongiorno, Danielle 2-10 3-4 7; Hiatt, Jordan 0-4 4-4 4; Katt, Alexis 1-4 1-2 3; Brinkley, Whitney 0-0 0-0 0; Christian, Brittany 0-1 0-0 0; Robinson, Brooke 0-0 0-0 0; Young, Farrah 0-1 0-0 0; Phillips, Kierra 0-1 0-0 0; Mitchell, Ashia 0-2 0-0 0; Patton, Krystal 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-66 14-21 51.
WINGATE (4-1 overall, 2-1 SAC)
Harris, Kayla 6-8 2-3 14; Williams, Janitsha 4-9 4-6 13; McGee, Morgan 4-8 2-4 10; Boyd, Sharee 3-7 3-4 9; Neely, Amber 3-7 1-3 7; Tricoli, Shelby 1-4 2-3 5; Boston, Brooklyn 1-1 1-2 3; Bonner, Kelli 0-0 0-0 0; Tomlinson, Alex 0-0 0-0 0; DeBerry, Jasmine 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 15-25 61.
Lenoir-Rhyne..................   23   28  -   51
Wingate.......................   25   36  -   61
3-point goals--Lenoir-Rhyne 1-12 (Gust, Jenni 1-4; Charles, Jazmine 0-4; Hiatt, Jordan 0-2; Christian, Brittany 0-1; Patton, Krystal 0-1), Wingate 2-7 (Tricoli, Shelby 1-3; Williams, Janitsha 1-3; Neely, Amber 0-1). Fouled out--Lenoir-Rhyne-Charles, Jazmine, Wingate-Harris, Kayla; McGee, Morgan. Rebounds--Lenoir-Rhyne 39 (Charles, Jazmine 8), Wingate 42 (Boyd, Sharee 10). Assists--Lenoir-Rhyne 9 (Bongiorno, Danielle 4), Wingate 14 (Neely, Amber 4; Harris, Kayla 4). Total fouls--Lenoir-Rhyne 25, Wingate 23. Technical fouls—Lenoir-Rhyne-None, Wingate-None. A-273
SAC women's basketball, Cuddy Arena, Wingate, N.C.
Wingate hosts Belmont Abbey Saturday, Nov. 30 (2 p.m.)
Lenoir-Rhyne visits Brevard Wednesday, Dec. 4 (6 p.m.)