Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team opens the home stretch of the 2012-13 season with a big test Wednesday, entertaining Newberry College for a 6 p.m. South Atlantic Conference contest in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court on the Wingate campus (watch PPV video, listen to live audio, view live statistics). Wingate plays four of its last six regular season games at home. The Bulldogs (10-12 overall, 4-8 SAC) hope to split the season series, as the Newberry Wolves (16-6 overall, 8-4 SAC) earned a hard-fought 74-66 overtime decision at Newberry on Jan. 16.
 
On Jan. 16, Newberry sophomore center Hayley Lepaio (Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia) posted a career-high 27 points to lead the Wolves to the overtime victory over the Bulldogs in Eleazer Arena. Lepaio added a team-best nine rebounds. Newberry redshirt freshman guard/forward Samantha Creed (Montmorency, Victoria, Australia) filled out her stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Wolves shot 52.6 percent from the floor Wednesday (30-of-57) in the victory.
 
Four Wingate players hit double figures in the heart-breaking road setback. Bulldog junior forward Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) recorded her (then) seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) had 13 points, while junior guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) and sophomore guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) posted 12 points each. Bonner hit four-of-six three-point field goals.
 
Bulldog fans are very familiar with Newberry, as the Wolves played two games in the 2012 OrthoCarolina Classic Nov. 10-11. Both Newberry and Wingate earned two victories each, taking close decisions over Montevallo (Ala.) and UNC Pembroke.
 
The contest will feature the top two rebounds in the SAC. Wingate’s Dunbar tops the SAC charts with her 10.0 rebounds per game; Newberry’s Lepaio is next with 9.3 caroms per contest. Lepaio leads the SAC with nine double-doubles this year; Dunbar follows with her eight daily doubles. Lepaio is a top-three member of four SAC statistical categories: points per game (first, 19.4), rebounds per game (second, 9.3), field goal percentage (third, 53.2) and blocked shots per game (third, 1.5).
 
Dunbar averages a double-double with her 10.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. She is one of four Bulldogs posting double-digit points per game. Williams leads the way with her 13.1 points per game. Wollett contributes 11.4 points per game, while freshman forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) averages 10.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. McGee is the second-best freshman scorer in the SAC; only Brevard’s Tuccoa Brackett (14.4 points per game) scores at a better clip among first-year performers.
 
Wingate is second on the SAC rebounding charts, as the Bulldogs outrebound their opponents by more than six boards per game. Newberry leads the league in scoring offense (64.8 points per game), field goal percentage (43.1), assists (16.0 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.85).
 
PLAY 4KAY ON THE HORIZON
 
The Wingate University women’s basketball team will participate in the 2013 Play 4Kay initiative (formerly known as WBCA Pink Zone) Saturday, Feb. 16, as the Bulldogs host Mars Hill for a 2 p.m. South Atlantic Conference contest. The Play 4Kay initiative is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Since its inception in 2007, the Play 4Kay initiative has raised over $2 million to support women’s cancer research.
 
For the Wingate game against Mars Hill on Feb. 16, fans are asked to wear pink to the game. Breast cancer survivors will be invited to sign in at the front desk of the Cannon Athletic Complex. Survivors in attendance will be recognized at halftime. Wingate fans can donate on the team’s Play 4Kay donation page at this link. Donations will benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
 
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.