Box Score Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team put together its best shooting night (day) of the season, taking a 76-53 NCAA Division II Southeast Region victory over Lees-McRae College Thursday morning in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Bulldog senior forward Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season with game-high totals of 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Wingate family hosted Future Bulldog Day.
 
Wingate hit 30-of-60 field goals for an even 50 percent, improving its record to 8-1 overall. The Bulldogs have won six games in a row. They will take a Christmas break before returning to the hardwood Jan. 4, when Carson-Newman University comes to town for a 2 p.m. South Atlantic Conference match-up. The Lees-McRae Bobcats are 4-7 overall entering the holidays.
 
Four Wingate players hit double-digit points. Senior guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) had 12 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) and freshman guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) contributed 11 points each. Lees-McRae sophomore forward/center Alyssa Munson (Summerfield, N.C.) led the visitors with 16 points and seven rebounds.
 
"Today was a great day," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "Future Bulldog Day seemed to be a tremendous success with a fantastic turnout. The team played well, got a win and ended the first semester on a positive note. The atmosphere was amazing. The noise level was off the charts. The team really fed off the enthusiasm, inspiring us to get an early lead."
 
A jumper by Lees-McRae forward Tayler Collins (Fayetteville, N.C.) gave the Bobcats a 21-20 lead with 6:27 to go in the first half. McGee answered with only her second three-point field goal of the season to give the Bulldogs the lead for good 19 seconds later. The McGee triple started a 12-0 run for the hosts. Sophomore guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) ended the flurry with a three-point field goal to make the score 32-21 Wingate with 3:12 to play.
 
The 11-point bulge was Wingate's largest of the first half. The Bulldogs led 36-26 at intermission, thanks to 13 points from Harris and eight points from Williams. Lees-McRae junior guard Kabrina Truesdale (Wilmington, N.C.) scored nine first-half points to lead the Bobcats.
 
Wingate started the second stanza with a 14-0 run to take a 50-26 lead on a Tricoli jumper at the 14:43 mark. Harris had 10 of the half-opening 14 points, concluding a 30-5 explosion spanning both halves. Wingate's lead never dipped below 21 points the rest of the way. Two free throws by junior forward Tameka Lewis (Tampa, Fla.) gave the Bulldogs their largest advantage at 65-34 with eight minutes remaining.

Wingate shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the second half (17-of-33), while Lees-McRae managed only 30 percent (nine-of-30). For the game, the Bobcats shot 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the field and 17.6 percent (three-of-17) from three-point land. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Conference Carolinas members 43-33 with a 25-15 advantage after intermission.
 
The Bulldogs swept the five specialty statistics categories. Wingate outscored LMC 40-24 in the paint and 12-4 on fast breaks. The Bulldog bench outscored the Bobcat reserves 23-15, thanks to McGee's 11 markers and a career-high seven points for Lewis. Both teams made 16 miscues, with Wingate winning the points off turnovers race 20-19. The Bulldogs had 11 second-chance points to four for the Bobcats.
 
"The (Future Bulldog Day) momentum carried into the second half," Hancock says. "We were able to get some valuable minutes for all the players. We hope today is a day the students in attendance will remember for a long time…and that it will be memorable not only because they saw a game, but because they learned the value of education."

Newspaper Box Score
Lees-McRae vs Wingate
12/19/13 11 a.m. at Wingate, N.C.

WINGATE WOMEN 76, LEES-MCRAE 53
LEES-MCRAE (4-7 overall)
Munson, Alyssa 6-14 4-6 16; Truesdale, Kabrina 4-11 1-2 9; Perez, Niroska 2-7 2-2 8; Collins, Tayler 3-4 1-2 7; de Souza, Layana 3-7 0-0 6; Patterson, Icey 1-4 2-2 5; Haynes, Kasey 1-8 0-0 2; Lewis, Lauren 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 20-62 10-14 53.
WINGATE (8-1 overall)
Harris, Kayla 9-15 7-10 25; Williams, Janitsha 6-11 0-0 12; Tricoli, Shelby 4-8 2-2 11; McGee, Morgan 5-7 0-1 11; Lewis, Tameka 2-2 3-4 7; DeBerry, Jasmine 1-3 1-2 3; Neely, Amber 1-6 0-0 3; Boston, Brooklyn 1-3 0-2 2; Hudson, Alysia 1-1 0-0 2; Tomlinson, Alex 0-1 0-0 0; Johnson, Janna 0-2 0-0 0; Bonner, Kelli 0-0 0-0 0; Walker, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-60 13-21 76.
Lees-McRae....................   26   27  -   53
Wingate.......................   36   40  -   76
3-point goals--Lees-McRae 3-17 (Perez, Niroska 2-6; Patterson, Icey 1-1; de Souza, Layana 0-1; Haynes, Kasey 0-3; Lewis, Lauren 0-5; Truesdale, Kabrina 0-1), Wingate 3-12 (Tricoli, Shelby 1-3; McGee, Morgan 1-1; Neely, Amber 1-3; Johnson, Janna 0-1; Walker, Taylor 0-1; Williams, Janitsha 0-3). Fouled out--Lees-McRae-Munson, Alyssa, Wingate-None. Rebounds--Lees-McRae 33 (Munson, Alyssa 7), Wingate 43 (Harris, Kayla 11). Assists--Lees-McRae 9 (Haynes, Kasey 3; de Souza, Layana 3), Wingate 17 (Neely, Amber 4; Williams, Janitsha 4). Total fouls--Lees-McRae 17, Wingate 16. Technical fouls--Lees-McRae-None, Wingate-None. A-699
Future Bulldog Day, Cuddy Arena, Wingate, N.C.
Wingate hosts Carson-Newman Saturday, Jan. 4 (2 p.m.)
Lees-McRae visits Belmont Abbey Saturday, Jan. 4 (5:30 p.m.)