Box Score
Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team sent its seniors out on a thrilling note, taking a 77-73 South Atlantic Conference overtime victory over Lincoln Memorial University in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court on the Wingate campus. Wingate (13-14 overall, 7-10 SAC) seniors Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.), Tish Logan (Suitland, Md.) and Jecia Anderson (San Antonio, Texas) conclude their Bulldog careers with 38 home victories. Lincoln Memorial (14-13 overall, 7-10 SAC) splits the season series with the Bulldogs.
 
Wingate sophomore point guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) led five players in double figures with her 17 points. Bonner hit six-of-10 field goals and three-of-six from downtown. Freshman forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) had 14 points and seven rebounds off the Bulldog bench. Wollett added 13 points and a team-best four assists.
 
Wingate junior forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded her SAC-best 12th double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Classmate Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The Bulldogs committed a season-low 10 turnovers. “We did a great job taking care of the ball tonight,” Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. “I thought we stepped up our defensive efforts in the second half and the overtime.”
 
Lincoln Memorial junior forward MaRanda Boddie (Springfield, Ohio) had 19 points, 11 rebounds, six blocked shots, three assists and two steals to lead the Railsplitters. LMU guards Kalasia Green (Leveen, Ariz.) and Kelsey Bradford (Metropolis, Ill.) had 15 points, five rebounds and two assists each. Guard Haley Nelson (White Pine, Tenn.) had 11 points on the strength of three baskets from downtown. Four different LMU players hit a triple Wednesday.
 
The LMU Railsplitters did not lead in regulation. Two free throws by junior forward Stevie Yazzie (Navajo, N.M.) gave the ‘Splitters their first lead 69-67 with 3:25 to play in overtime. After Dunbar and Boddie traded jumpers, Bradford made two charity tosses to make the score 73-71 LMU with two minutes left.
 
Two free throws each by Wollett (1:50) and McGee (1:09) gave Wingate the lead for good 75-73. After an LMU miss and a McGee defensive rebound, the Bulldog freshman added a jumper from the elbow to put the hosts up 77-73 with 29 seconds remaining. Lincoln Memorial made only one basket (in six tries) during extra time.
 
The two teams battled on even terms, as the score was knotted 36-36 at halftime. Bonner and Boddie led their teams with 14 points each in the opening frame. Wingate led by 10 in the early going, before LMU rallied to tie the score. Lincoln Memorial shot 50 percent in the first half (13-of-26), while Wingate returned the favor by shooting 50 percent in the second stanza (13-of-26).
 
A Williams lay-up gave Wingate a 58-49 lead with seven minutes remaining in the regulation. A McGee free throw put the Bulldogs up 66-60 with 1:02 to play. Eleven seconds later, LMU junior forward Ralissa Nelson (Janesville, Wis.) hit a triple to cut the deficit in half. After a Wingate miss, Boddie made two free throws (0:32) to make the score 66-65 Wingate.
 
Williams made one-of-two free throws with 17 seconds to play, giving the hosts a two-point advantage. Bradford tied the score 67-67 with 10 seconds left when she calmly hit two free throws. Wollett got a good look from the right wing, but her three-point field goal attempt wouldn’t fall.
 
Wingate outscored LMU 42-28 in the paint. The Bulldogs shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62), while the Railsplitters managed only 39.7 percent accuracy (23-of-58). Dunbar had four steals and three assists to go with her double-double. Thanks to McGee, Wingate’s bench outscored the LMU reserves 22-17.

“I am proud of our overall effort tonight,” Hancock says. “I was happy we could send our seniors out with a final home victory.” Wingate concludes its regular season Saturday, visiting Carson-Newman for a 2 p.m. contest. Lincoln Memorial hosts Catawba Saturday at 6 p.m.       
 

Newspaper Box Score
Lincoln Memorial vs Wingate
02/27/13 6 p.m. at Wingate, N.C.

WINGATE WOMEN 77, LINCOLN MEMORIAL 73 (OT)
LINCOLN MEMORIAL (14-13 overall, 7-10 SAC)
Boddie, MaRanda 5-9 9-12 19; Green, Kalasia 6-14 1-4 15; Bradford, Kelsey 5-9 4-4 15; Nelson, Haley 4-6 0-0 11; Nelson, Ralissa 1-8 4-6 7; Yazzie, Stevie 1-5 2-2 4; Roberts, Elliotte 1-2 0-0 2; Cox, Kortnay 0-0 0-0 0; Guy, Britney 0-0 0-0 0; Davenport, Miranda 0-2 0-0 0; Musa, Edina 0-0 0-0 0; Richardson, Mariah 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 20-28 73.
WINGATE (13-14 overall, 7-10 SAC)
Bonner, Kelli 6-10 2-2 17; McGee, Morgan 6-13 2-4 14; Wollett, Sarah 4-9 4-7 13; Dunbar, Chantal 5-11 2-3 12; Williams, Janitsha 5-10 1-2 11; Boyd, Sharee 1-4 2-4 4; Thompson, Jakari 1-3 0-0 2; Boston, Brooklyn 1-1 0-0 2; Logan, Tish 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-62 13-22 77.
Lincoln Memorial..............   36   31    6  -   73
Wingate.......................   36   31   10  -   77
3-point goals--Lincoln Memorial 7-23 (Nelson, Haley 3-4; Green, Kalasia 2-6; Nelson, Ralissa 1-7; Bradford, Kelsey 1-4; Davenport, Miranda 0-1; Yazzie, Stevie 0-1), Wingate 4-11 (Bonner, Kelli 3-6; Wollett, Sarah 1-3; Williams, Janitsha 0-2). Fouled out--Lincoln Memorial-None, Wingate-None. Rebounds--Lincoln Memorial 37 (Boddie, MaRanda 11), Wingate 37 (Dunbar, Chantal 13). Assists--Lincoln Memorial 12 (Nelson, Ralissa 3; Boddie, MaRanda 3), Wingate 12 (Wollett, Sarah 4). Total fouls--Lincoln Memorial 18, Wingate 20. Technical fouls--Lincoln Memorial-None, Wingate-None. A-375
SAC basketball, Cuddy Arena & Thomas Koontz Family Court, Wingate, N.C.
Wingate visits Carson-Newman Saturday, March 2 (2 p.m.)
Lincoln Memorial hosts Catawba Saturday, March 2 (6 p.m.)