Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team hopes to continue its winning ways Saturday as the Bulldogs host South Atlantic Conference foe Tusculum College in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court (2 p.m. tip-off). On Wednesday, Wingate defeated Queens University of Charlotte 66-48 to begin a six-games-in-eight-dates home stand. The Bulldogs are 10-3 overall and 6-3 in the SAC. The TC Pioneers are 1-12 overall and 1-8 in the SAC.
 
"Wednesday's victory creates momentum for us," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "It was great to start our home stand with a big win. I think returning to a routine…helps us. We had the students in the stands, the band was playing…we were motivated and fired up (Wednesday)."
 
Three players hit double figures for the host Bulldogs Wednesday. Senior guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) had 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C.) posted 14 points and seven boards, while sophomore forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) contributed 13 points and five rebounds. Wingate led 41-13 at halftime and never looked back.
 
Wingate swept the five specialty statistics categories. Most notably, the Bulldog reserves outscored the Royal substitutes 17-1. "Our bench gave us a big spark," Hancock says. "Every person we put into the game played with great energy."
 
Three Wingate reserves had four points each Wednesday: juniors Brooklyn Boston (Lenoir, N.C.) and Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) and freshman Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.). Bulldog junior guard Jasmine DeBerry (Charlotte, N.C.) had a team-high (tying) four assists in 17 minutes.
 
"Confidence is a big thing for our team," Hancock says. "It was good for Janitsha to get back on track with her shot (Williams hit three-of-five three pointers and six-of-13 overall Wednesday). We hope to continue to build confidence Saturday."
 
Williams leads the team with 15.6 points per game. She averages 16.7 points per game in the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena, helping Wingate win six home games in seven tries this year. Her SAC games only scoring average (15.6) is identical to her overall average.
 
Harris is Wingate's top scorer in league play with her 16.4 points per game in the Bulldogs' nine SAC contests this season. Overall, Harris posts 14.9 points per game and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game. She is second on the team (among players with 18-plus minutes per game) with her 46.4 percent field goal accuracy.
 
McGee contributes 9.3 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Guards Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) and Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) are next on Wingate's list with 8.5 points per game and 8.1 points per game, respectively. Neely's 54 assists top the Bulldog charts.
 
Sophomore guard Shynese Whitener (Newton, N.C.) leads Tusculum with her 12.2 points per game. Senior guard Nequoiah Anderson (Washington, D.C.) posts 11.7 points per game, while junior guard Blakeley Burleson (Piney Flats, Tenn.) contributes 11.5 points per game. Sophomore forward Kristen McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) pulls down a team-leading 9.8 rebounds per game. On Wednesday, Tusculum dropped a 76-66 SAC home decision to Lincoln Memorial.
 
On Nov. 23, Harris and Tricoli posted (then) Bulldog career-highs of 22 and 18 points, respectively, to help Wingate take an 89-69 triumph at Tusculum. Four Wingate players hit double figures. Anderson led the host Pioneers with 20 points.
 
The last time the two teams met at Wingate, Williams and classmate Chantal Dunbar (Norfolk, Va.) combined for 30 points and 26 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to a 56-48 victory over Tusculum Jan. 5, 2013. Williams posted her second career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Dunbar had 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 8th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte 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 seven years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000's with 59 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 59 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 68 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.