Charlotte, N.C.----Wingate University graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded her 18th career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Bulldogs to a 67-50 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory over Queens University of Charlotte Wednesday night in Curry Arena on the Queens campus. Three players hit double figures for the visiting Bulldogs.
 
Wingate improves to 10-6 overall and 8-1 in the SAC with its eighth straight league victory and sixth consecutive triumph total. With Carson-Newman's 77-76 overtime loss at Brevard Wednesday, the Bulldogs gain sole possession of first place in the SAC standings. The Queens Royals are 4-10 overall and 2-7 in the SAC.
 
Bulldog senior guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) and sophomore guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) supported Dunbar's inside efforts with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Bonner hit four-of-eight three-point field goals Wednesday night. Wingate redshirt senior point guard Brittany Hill (Mechanicsville, Va.) flirted with a double-double of her own, posting eight points and a game-high six assists.
 
Queens sophomore forward McKell Oliverio (Florence, Ky.) led all scorers with 22 points. Senior forward Lacey Singletary (Burlington, N.C.) added 16 points for the hosts. Oliverio and Singletary hit 15-of-24 field goals Wednesday night; their seven teammates who participated managed to convert only four-of-20 attempts.
 
"Our first half defensive effort was outstanding," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "We were able to adjust to play our press as we did earlier in the season. We created some easy transition points. The perimeter players came through with some big baskets. Queens did a terrific job defending the post. Every win is important this time of the year."

Wingate finished the first half on a 23-10 run to take a 40-25 lead to the halftime locker room. The Royals trailed 17-15 after Queens senior guard/forward Abby Pettit (Raleigh, N.C.) hit a three-point field goal on an assist from junior guard Nikki Gleason (Valley Springs, Calif.) with 11:41 to play in the opening frame.
 
Eight different Bulldogs contributed to the 23-10 explosion, led by Tricoli and her five points. Only Oliverio (eight points) and Singletary (two points) scored for the Royals in the final 11-plus minutes of the first half. A lay-up by senior forward Brooklyn Boston (Lenoir, N.C.) on a dish from sophomore guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) gave Wingate a 37-22 lead with 2:37 to go. The 15-point bulge was Wingate's largest of the initial 20 minutes.
 
Queens would get no closer than 14 points in the second half. Wingate shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) after intermission, taking its biggest lead at 58-34 on a Tomlinson lay-up with 11:37 to play in the second stanza.
 
Wingate swept the five major specialty statistics categories. The Bulldogs turned 24 Queens turnovers into 28 points. By comparison, the Royals managed only eight points from 16 Wingate miscues. The Bulldogs outscored their neighbors in points in the paint (32-20), second-chance points (15-4), fast-break points (19-4) and bench points (18-4). Tomlinson was Wingate's leading scorer among five substitutes, hitting four-of-four field goals en route to her eight-point night.
 
Next on the agenda for the Bulldogs is a 2 p.m. Saturday home game against SAC foe Tusculum. Queens hits the road for its longest league trip of the season, venturing to Lincoln Memorial for a 2 p.m. Saturday tilt.