Women's Basketball | 11/23/2015 3:43:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team opens South Atlantic Conference play Tuesday afternoon, traveling to Hickory to face the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears (multimedia opportunities). Tip-off in L-R's Shuford Memorial Gymnasium is slated for 4 p.m.
 
In Wingate's 2015-16 opener, USC Aiken rallied for a 62-56 triumph over the Bulldogs Wednesday night at the USCA Convocation Center. Wingate junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) had 13 points to lead the visitors. Senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) and junior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) added 12 points each. McGee had a team-high nine rebounds.
 
USC Aiken shot 50 percent from the floor after intermission (12-of-24), hitting six-of-12 three-point field goals after halftime. On the night, USCA shot 40.4 percent (19-of-47), while Wingate shot 34.6 percent (18-of-52).
 
The Bulldogs took their biggest lead of the evening on a Tricoli triple at the 6:23 mark, making the score 24-10 Wingate. Two Tomlinson free throws settled the halftime margin to give Wingate a 30-20 edge at intermission. Wingate shot 43.5 percent in the first half (10-of-23), while hitting four-of-eight from downtown. Tomlinson led the Bulldogs with eight first-half points.
 
"We played really well for three quarters (at USC Aiken)," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "We saw some good things, such as balanced scoring and defensive effort."
 
With the Bulldogs only one game into the season and a conference game looming, Hancock believes every minute of practice and preparation is important. "We try to cover every situation…and be prepared for every scenario," Hancock says. "Every game is important for us to reach our goals."
 
Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne played three times last season. The Bulldogs won both regular season meetings, while the Bears earned a victory in the first round of the SAC tournament. On Nov. 25, 2014, Tomlinson had a game-high 13 points, helping the WU bench outscore the L-R reserves 26-7 on the way to a 56-49 SAC victory in Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
 
Bulldog guard Kelli Bonner ('15) added 11 points, while forward Chantal Dunbar ('14) and guard Brittany Hill ('15) contributed nine points each. Dunbar led both teams with her 12 rebounds, giving her 20 double-digit rebounding games for her WU career.
 
On Jan. 7, 2015, Wingate's bench came up big again as the Bulldog substitutes outscored the Bear reserves 26-4 en route to a 71-54 SAC home victory. Bonner had 15 points, while Dunbar recorded her 17th career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.  
 
Six Wingate players scored seven or more points. Hill and senior center Alysia Hudson (Jacksonville, N.C.) had nine points each, while forward Andrea Bertrand had eight points. Tomlinson contributed seven points and a team-best four assists.
 
In the 2015 SAC tourney first-rounder on March 4, L-R guard Jazmine Charles ('15) tallied 33 points as the Bears claimed an 80-69 triumph over host Wingate University. Dunbar led the hosts with 20 points and 14 rebounds, her 26th career double-double. Four L-R student-athletes hit double-digit points as the Bears.
 
Bertrand narrowly missed a double-double of her own, posting 14 points and nine rebounds. Dunbar and Bertrand combined to shoot 13-of-28 from the floor (46.4 percent). Their eight teammates who participated in the contest totaled 15 made baskets in 40 tries (37.5 percent). The Bulldogs outrebounded the Bears 42-32, turning 21 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne enters Tuesday's contest 1-1 overall following two road games. The Bears lost a tight 66-63 decision to Belmont Abbey Nov. 18. On Saturday, L-R edged Converse 63-57. Bear senior guard Jasmine Stafford (Memphis, Tenn.) leads the L-R charge with 14 points per game. Senior center Shelly Harper (Cincinnati, Ohio) averages 13 points per game. Both Stafford and Harper are transfers from Eastern Kentucky University.
 
Bear freshman forward Madi Suddreth (Taylorsville, N.C.) contributes 10 points per game. L-R junior forward Brooke Robinson (Vale, N.C.) has 20 rebounds in two 2015-16 contests. Robinson was Lenoir-Rhyne's leading rebounder last season with 9.1 rebounds per game.
 
"Playing Lenoir-Rhyne right off the bat…adds excitement and anxiousness to our preparations," Hancock says. "This is a big rivalry game for us. It would have been nice to have a few more days to prepare, especially with the number of new players we have. We have been working hard…and I think we are ready for the challenge."
 
After the L-R contest, the Bulldogs will play their home opener at Cuddy Arena against the UNC Pembroke Braves on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. After the UNCP game, the Bulldogs will play five consecutive SAC games leading into the Christmas season and the New Year.
 
The Bulldogs will face Mars Hill (Dec. 5) on the road before playing Newberry (Dec. 8) and Tusculum (Dec. 13) back in the comfort of their own home at Cuddy Arena. The Newberry contest marks the fourth annual Future Bulldog Day, an event for local fifth-grade students to visit the Wingate campus for a day and enjoy tours, motivational speakers and NCAA Division II basketball.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,100 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, master's degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 15 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 nine 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 79 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 79 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 88 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.