Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s basketball team will visit Lenoir-Rhyne University Wednesday night (7 p.m. tip) for a first-round contest in the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament (watch video, view live statistics). Number seven seed Wingate is 13-15 overall and 7-11 in the SAC, while the number two seed L-R Bears are 18-8 overall and 13-5 in the SAC.
 
Wingate has won 11 SAC regular season crowns and six Food Lion SAC tournament championships. On the national scene, Wingate leads the SAC with 12 appearances in the NCAA Division II national tournament. Wingate has an overall NCAA tourney record of 16-12 with Elite Eight appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2008.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne won both 2013 regular season meetings. On Feb. 6, L-R sophomore guard Jazmine Charles scored 18 points to help the Bears take a hard-fought 55-53 victory over Wingate in Shuford Gymnasium on the L-R campus. Charles hit two-of-three three-point field goals and eight-of-12 free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
Wingate senior guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) and freshman forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) tallied 11 points each for the Bulldogs. McGee had a team-best eight rebounds. Wingate had the ball three times with a chance to tie or take the lead in the waning moments. Charles made three-of-four free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the deal. Wollett hit a three-point field goal at the buzzer for the final margin.
 
Wingate shot 37.3 percent from the floor (22-of-59), while Lenoir-Rhyne hit 35.4 percent of its field goal attempts (17-of-48). The Bear bench outscored the Bulldog reserves 31-13, thanks to Charles’ game-high scoring effort. Lenoir-Rhyne outrebounded Wingate 41-32. SAC leading rebounder and Wingate junior forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) had seven boards to support McGee’s eight caroms.
 
On Jan. 9, Lenoir-Rhyne posted 43 bench points to take a 73-56 victory over Wingate in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Lenoir-Rhyne had 40 points in the paint, compared to 26 for Wingate. The Bears converted 21 Bulldog turnovers into 25 points. Lenoir-Rhyne also committed 21 miscues, but Wingate could manage only 14 points off the Bear mistakes.
 
Eleven players found the scoring column for the visiting Bears. Charles led the Bears with 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Junior forward Nneka Awuruonye had 12 points and seven boards. Both Charles and Awuruonye served in a reserve role. The Bears gave head coach Todd Starkey his first road victory at Cuddy Arena (in eight seasons). Lenoir-Rhyne has won only twice on Wingate’s current home court (in 27 years).
 
Wollett had 16 points and four assists to lead the Bulldogs. Dunbar recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. She also snatched a game-high six steals. McGee contributed 12 points for the hosts. Wingate shot 32.8 percent from the floor (21-of-64). L-R shot 48.2 percent from the floor (27-of-56), the highest field goal accuracy allowed by the Bulldogs (through 13 games). Lenoir-Rhyne outrebounded Wingate by a slim 39-38 margin, only the second time (through 13 games) the Bulldogs had been on the short end of the rebounding total.
 
THIS AND THAT

Dunbar is the only SAC student-athlete averaging a double-double with her 11.5 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game. She leads the SAC in rebounding and double-doubles (13). On the national scene, she is 23rd in rebounding and 14th in double-doubles.
 
Williams leads the Bulldogs with her 13.2 points per game. She is joined on the double figure charts by Dunbar, Wollett (11.4) and McGee (10.9). Wollett averaged 13.5 points per game in two contests against the Bears this season. Williams (13.9), Dunbar (12.2) and Wollett (11.7) achieved higher point-per-game averages in league play. 
 
Wollett and sophomore point guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) share the Wingate lead with 47 three-point field goals each. Lenoir-Rhyne is number two in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot only 24.4 percent from behind the three-point line. Wingate is converting 33.6 percent (129-of-384) of its shots from downtown.
 
Charles is the only Bear to average double figures with her 11.5 points per game. Awuruonye is L-R’s top rebounder with 5.8 rebounds per game. Every player on Lenoir-Rhyne’s active roster has started at least one game. The Bears have lost two Food Lion SAC tournament quarter-final home games in a row. The 2011 L-R team lost to a five seed, while the 2012 Bear bunch lost to a six seed.
 
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, physical therapy 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 is second (to 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.