Women's Basketball | 12/30/2014 7:46:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team will open the home portion of its 2014-15 South Atlantic Conference schedule Wednesday, hosting Anderson (S.C.) University for a 2 p.m. league contest in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Wingate is 5-6 overall and 3-1 in the SAC. The AU Trojans (7-1 overall) are tied for first place on the league charts with a 4-0 SAC mark.  
 
"Anderson presents us with a tough challenge," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "They are a veteran team that plays well together. Anderson is focused and quick."
 
Wingate won three-of-three games against Anderson last season after the Trojans won both contests between the two schools in the 2012-13 season. On March 8, the Bulldogs advanced to the SAC tournament title game with a 70-59 semi-final victory over the Trojans. Wingate seniors Janitsha Williams ('14, Statesville, N.C.) and Kayla Harris ('14, Raleigh, N.C.) had 18 points each. Anderson guard Emily Willoughby (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) had 16 points off the Trojan bench.
 
On Feb. 8, Harris had a Bulldog career-high 29 points and added 12 rebounds as the Bulldogs claimed a 91-73 home-court triumph over Anderson. Williams had 21 points and eight boards for the hosts. Wingate led wire-to-wire, shooting a season-best 51.7 percent from the floor (30-of-58).
 
For Anderson, sophomore guard Heather Jankowy (Walhalla, S.C.) had 19 points. She drained three-of-six three-point field goals. Trojan senior guards Sierra Simpson (Simpsonville, S.C.) and Lesley Woods (Raleigh, N.C.) had 10 points each. Woods also hit three buckets from downtown (in seven attempts).
 
Williams and Harris combined for 35 points and 21 rebounds as the Bulldogs defeated defending SAC champion Anderson 56-55 at the Abney Athletic Center on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. Williams had 20 points and nine rebounds, while Harris had 15 points and 12 boards. Anderson sophomore forward Alexis Dillard (Taylors, S.C.) had 14 points, six blocked shots and five rebounds. Simpson had 13 points and 11 boards.
 
Most recently, Wingate defeated BYU Hawaii 65-46 Thursday, Dec. 18 in the Honolulu Holiday Classic. Wingate's five post players totaled 54 points and 20 rebounds. Their five BYU Hawaii counterparts had 11 points and 19 boards. Graduate student Andrea Bertrand (Midlothian, Va.) had 16 points, while graduate student Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) and junior Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) posted 14 points each.
 
Hancock believes the Hawaii experience was beneficial for her team in more ways than meets the casual basketball observer's eye. "We were able to do stuff together we wouldn't normally do," Hancock says. "When we went snorkeling, we were required to utilize the buddy system. It was a team effort."
 
At Diamond Head, a challenging hike turned into another team-building activity. "Each person on our team assumed a new role (during the hike)," Hancock says. "Everyone encouraged each other…saying 'you can do it.'"
 
Hancock hopes one old trait will return Wednesday…Wingate's winning ways in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs have won 15-of-20 SAC regular season home contests in the three-year Hancock era. Last year, Wingate was 9-2 in SAC play on Thomas Koontz Court en route to earning both regular season and tournament championships.
 
McGee leads Wingate's active players with her 12.7 points per game. In SAC play, the junior forward is scoring 14.3 points per game. Dunbar and sophomore guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) are next with 9.4 and 9.1 points per game, respectively. Dunbar leads the Bulldogs with her 9.8 rebounds per game.
 
Bertrand and senior guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) are not far behind, as they contribute 8.6 and 8.1 points per game, respectively. Bonner tops the Wingate charts with her 20 three-point field goals, one more than Tricoli.
 
Only Tusculum (73.9) and Carson-Newman (72.9) score more points per game than Anderson (71.5) this season. By contrast, Wingate averages 63.7 points per game. Woods leads the AU Trojans with her 13.6 points per game. Simpson is next on the Anderson charts with her 11.5 points per game. Six AU student-athletes average 6.9 points per game or better. Dillard leads the Trojans in rebounding with her 6.4 boards per game.
 
Second-year Trojan head coach Jimmy Garrity spent eight years on Ann Hancock's staff at UNC Wilmington. Anderson assistant coach Mike Merrill also served on the UNCW Seahawks' staff during Hancock's tenure on the coast. "Coach Garrity and I talked a great deal as he was making the transition from Division I to Division II coaching," Hancock says.
 
Hancock has much history with the Garrity family, as Jimmy's wife (Jenny) served 12 years as the head women's tennis coach at UNCW. "It is interesting…I've enjoyed watching the (Garrity's) kids grow up," Hancock says. "Their oldest daughter is the same age as my niece…so I am able to keep up with her."
 
Wingate visits league co-leader Carson-Newman Saturday, while Anderson hosts Catawba. Both games start at 2 p.m. The Catawba Indians are the only SAC team to defeat the Bulldogs this season, as they earned a hard-fought 67-55 decision on Nov. 19.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 10th "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 eight years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 72 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 72 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 81 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.