Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University junior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) posted 21 points to lead four players in double digits, boosting the first-place Bulldogs to an 88-65 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory over Lincoln Memorial University Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Wingate is 9-6 overall and 7-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs have won five consecutive games. The LMU Railsplitters are 7-7 overall and 4-4 in the SAC.

Bulldog graduate student forward Andrea Bertrand (Midlothian, Va.) had 18 points and a team-best eight rebounds for the victors. Graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) and sophomore guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Dunbar pulled down seven boards as Wingate outrebounded LMU 40-32.

For Lincoln Memorial, senior guard Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) led the 'Splitters with 20 points. She filled out her statistics ledger with five rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots. LMU junior guard Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) had 12 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore center Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) had nine points and a game-high 12 boards.

"Today was a really nice win," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "The post players played extremely well. I was pleased that Morgan McGee came out aggressively, looking to take advantage of being a difficult assignment for their defenders to come away from the basket.  Morgan played under control and let the game come to her…not only did she score, but she found open teammates when they collapsed on her." 

"When our post players are effective, it makes it easier for the perimeter players to get open looks," Hancock says. "Overall, we did a super job of finding the open player and sharing the ball. It's a good sign when we are positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Statistically, this was one of our best games of the year. We will continue to work hard, take one game at a time and try to improve each day."

McGee helped the Wingate bench outscore the LMU reserves by a whopping 35-13 margin. She was six-for-10 from the floor and a perfect eight-of-eight from the foul line. McGee added three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots to her statistics line Saturday. The Hillside High School product has four games this season with 20-plus points, including a career-high 30 markers in a SAC road triumph at Tusculum Nov. 22.
 
Harding scored the first bucket of the game (19:46) to give the visitors their only lead of the afternoon. Tricoli answered with a personal 5-0 run, nailing a triple on an assist from senior guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) to make the score 5-2 Bulldogs 87 seconds into the contest.
 
Lincoln Memorial tied the score 9-9 on a Lee three-point field goal with 15:44 remaining in the first half. Dunbar responded with a jumper in the paint (14:06) on a dish from redshirt senior point guard Brittany Hill (Mechanicsville, Va.) to break the game's second (and final) tie.
 
Wingate led 40-22 at intermission, thanks to 11 points from McGee and eight points from Tricoli. The 18-point margin was Wingate's largest of the opening 20 minutes. The Bulldogs hit 48.4 percent of their first-half shots (15-of-31), while the Railsplitters managed only 34.5 percent accuracy (10-of-29).
 
Lincoln Memorial shot 48.6 percent from the field after halftime (18-of-37), but the Bulldogs stepped up their game as well, nailing 51.6 percent of their second stanza field goal tries (16-of-31). The Railsplitters never cut the deficit below 18 points in the second half, as the hosts gradually pulled away. Two free throws by senior guard Jasmine DeBerry (Charlotte, N.C.) gave Wingate a 29-point lead (86-57) with 1:43 remaining. The bulge was Wingate's biggest lead of the contest.
 
The opportunistic Bulldogs turned 16 LMU turnovers into 28 points. By contrast, the Railsplitters managed only 14 points from 15 Wingate miscues. The Bulldogs blocked a season-high seven shots, with Bertrand providing a game-high three rejections. Both McGee and sophomore guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) blocked two shots each. Hill had five assists, three steals and only one turnover in a team-high 33 minutes.
 
Wingate hits the road Wednesday, visiting neighbor Queens University of Charlotte for a 6 p.m. SAC contest. Lincoln Memorial looks to snap a five-game losing skid the same day, as the 'Splitters host mountain rival Tusculum College for a 6 p.m. league tilt in Tex Turner Arena.

Newspaper Box Score
Lincoln Memorial vs Wingate
01/10/15 2 p.m. at Wingate, N.C.

WINGATE WOMEN 88, LINCOLN MEMORIAL 65
LINCOLN MEMORIAL (7-7 overall, 4-4 SAC)
Lee, Aisjah 9-16 0-4 20; Rawls, Kiara 5-16 2-2 12; Harding, Josey 4-7 1-2 9; Ottesen, Katrina 3-6 2-2 9; Coker, Shea 3-6 0-0 7; Guy, Britney 2-5 0-0 4; Pritchett, Ashley 1-3 0-0 2; Pittman, Megan 1-6 0-0 2; Mathis, Ross 0-1 0-0 0; Beasley, Lakeisha 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 5-10 65.
WINGATE (9-6 overall, 7-1 SAC)
McGee, Morgan 6-10 8-8 21; Bertrand, Andrea 8-13 2-2 18; Dunbar, Chantal 6-9 2-2 14; Tricoli, Shelby 5-10 0-0 13; Bonner, Kelli 3-5 0-0 8; Hudson, Alysia 1-5 3-3 5; Walker, Taylor 1-2 1-2 4; DeBerry, Jasmine 0-0 3-4 3; Tomlinson, Alex 1-4 0-0 2; Hill, Brittany 0-3 0-0 0; Boston, Brooklyn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-62 19-21 88.
Lincoln Memorial..............   22   43  -   65
Wingate.......................   40   48  -   88
3-point goals--Lincoln Memorial 4-21 (Lee, Aisjah 2-7; Coker, Shea 1-2; Ottesen, Katrina 1-4; Guy, Britney 0-1; Pittman, Megan 0-1; Mathis, Ross 0-1; Rawls, Kiara 0-5), Wingate 7-12 (Tricoli, Shelby 3-6; Bonner, Kelli 2-3; Walker, Taylor 1-2; McGee, Morgan 1-1). Fouled out--Lincoln Memorial-Pittman, Megan, Wingate-None. Rebounds--Lincoln Memorial 32 (Harding, Josey 12), Wingate 40 (Bertrand, Andrea 8). Assists--Lincoln Memorial 14 (Rawls, Kiara 7), Wingate 18 (Hill, Brittany 5). Total fouls--Lincoln Memorial 18, Wingate 11. Technical fouls--Lincoln Memorial-None, Wingate-None. A-327
South Atlantic Conference women's basketball, Cuddy Arena, Wingate, N.C.
Wingate visits Queens (N.C.) Wednesday, Jan. 14 (6 p.m.)
Lincoln Memorial hosts Tusculum Wednesday, Jan. 14 (6 p.m.)