Wingate, N.C.---- The number 24 Wingate University women's basketball team will look to get back on the winning track Saturday as the Bulldogs host Anderson (S.C.) University for a 2 p.m. South Atlantic Conference contest in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Wingate (15-4 overall, 11-4 SAC) possesses a 10-1 home record this season. Anderson is 12-9 overall and 8-7 in the SAC.
 
The Bulldog women's basketball team will be hosting a Be The Match® Marrow Donor Registry Drive in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus from 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday. The drive honors University of North Carolina head women's basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell, who was diagnosed with leukemia in October of 2013.
 
"Anderson is playing really well," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "They are very balanced and can score in a multitude of ways. Because they shoot the ball so well, they are extremely hard to defend. We will have to be disciplined and execute to get the shots we want against their zone defense."
 
On Wednesday night, Newberry College concluded the game with a 18-9 run to take a 66-55 SAC victory over number 24 Wingate in Eleazer Arena. The Wolves' fourth consecutive win ends a six-game victory string for the visiting WU Bulldogs. Wingate is tied for first place in the league standings with Lenoir-Rhyne (16-4 overall, 11-4 SAC).
 
For Wingate, senior guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) scored in double figures for the 25th consecutive game with a team-best 17 points. The All-SAC performer pulled down eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) had 12 points, while sophomore forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) contributed 11 points.
 
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, Williams and senior forward Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C.) combined for 35 points and 21 rebounds as the Bulldogs defeated defending SAC champion Anderson 56-55 at the Abney Athletic Center. Williams had 20 points and nine rebounds. Harris posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards.
 
Wingate leads the SAC in scoring defense (60.8 points per game) and field goal percentage defense (35.7 percent). In the first meeting between the Bulldogs and the AU Trojans, Anderson shot 30.8 percent from the floor (20-of-65). The Trojans' 55-point output was their second-lowest scoring effort of the season.
 
Harris leads the Bulldogs with 16.2 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game. She tops the SAC charts with her nine double-doubles this season. Williams posts 16.1 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. The senior duo are fifth and sixth, respectively, on the SAC individual scoring list.
 
For Anderson, junior guard Lesley Woods (Raleigh, N.C.) averages a team-best 10.7 points per game. Classmate and backcourt mate Sierra Simpson (Simpsonville, S.C.) contributes 10.1 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. AU freshman forward Alexis Dillard (Taylors, S.C.) is the team's top rebounder with 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
Trojan head coach Jimmy Garrity spent eight years on Ann Hancock's staff at UNC Wilmington. The 2013-14 season is Garrity's first year at Anderson. The AU Trojans swept the season series over league co-leader Lenoir-Rhyne, taking a 71-70 victory at L-R in November and a 76-67 home triumph in January.
 
"It will definitely be a battle," Hancock says. "Limiting (Anderson) to one shot will also play a factor in the game. Rebounding will be a key in determining the outcome."
 
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.