Jefferson City, Tenn.----The Wingate University women's basketball team built a 16-point second half lead and endured a furious Carson-Newman University rally, taking a 66-63 South Atlantic Conference victory over the previously undefeated Eagles in Holt Field House Saturday afternoon. Wingate sophomore guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) matched her career-high with 22 points.
 
The defending SAC champions, Wingate is 7-6 overall and 5-1 in the SAC. Carson-Newman (receiving votes in the WBCA top 25 and ranked number 18 in the first-year D2SIDA top 25) falls to 11-1 overall and 5-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs and the Eagles are tied for first place in the 12-team league standings.
 
Tricoli scored 20 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, nailing four-of-four three-point field goals in the opening frame. Wingate senior guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) supported her backcourt mate with 11 points, hitting two triples in the first half as the Bulldogs took a 41-28 lead to the halftime locker room.
 
"This was a great team win," Bonner says. "Carson-Newman is a great team. We knew that they would make a run, but we were able to withstand their pressure. Shelby and (redshirt senior guard) Brittany (Hill, Mechanicsville, Va.) it huge free throws down the stretch. Overall, it was a great victory against a great team."
 
For Carson-Newman, junior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 13 points. Senior forward Whitney Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and freshman forward Jecca Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.) had 11 points each. The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 35-25 after intermission, as Kyle and Simerly combined for 19 second-half points.

"This is a tremendous win on the road (for us)," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "The experience and composure of both Brittany and (graduate student forward) Andrea (Bertrand, Midlothian, Va.) were crucial down the stretch. They play well together and know what it takes to win. We hope to build on this and gain momentum heading into Wednesday's game against Lenoir-Rhyne."
 
A lay-up by graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) gave Wingate a 56-40 lead with 6:29 remaining. The C-N Eagles answered with a 14-0 run, cutting the Bulldog lead to 56-54 on a Simerly inside hoop with 2:03 remaining. The freshman post had seven of Carson-Newman's 14 points in the flurry, as both she and Kyle converted old-fashioned three-point plays during the rally.
 
On the other end, Bertrand grabbed an offensive rebound on an errant shot and was fouled. She made both ends of a one-and-one to nudge Wingate's edge to four points. Kyle sandwiched two field goals around a Bertrand hoop to make the score 60-58 Wingate with 18 seconds left.
 
Tricoli (two-for-two) and Hill (four-for-four) took over at this point, hitting six-of-six from the charity stripe to keep the lead intact. The Bulldogs hit a season-best free throw percentage (95 percent, 19-of-20) on the afternoon.
 
Wingate was not completely out of the Mossy Creek woods. McLaughlin made a traditional three-point play with six seconds to play, cutting the C-N deficit to 64-63. Hill was fouled immediately and converted both tries on the other end for the final margin. The Eagles had one more possession, but they did not attempt a shot in the last seconds.
 
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Eagles by a slim 37-35 margin, with Dunbar leading both teams with 11 boards. Dunbar posts her 23rd career double-figure rebounding game in the victory. Wingate had 13 offensive rebounds that they converted to 11 second-chance points. Carson-Newman had 16 offensive rebounds, but they managed only eight points as a result.
 
The Eagles won the other four major specialty statistics categories, including a whopping 36-22 edge for points in the paint. Hill was in the triple-double neighborhood with eight points, six assists and five steals. She led both teams in helpers and in steals, while adding four rebounds to her portfolio.
 
Wingate returns to North Carolina for three-of-four home games, starting with a Wednesday night contest against Lenoir-Rhyne in the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. Carson-Newman hits the road, visiting mountain rival Mars Hill for a 6 p.m. Wednesday tilt.