Women's Basketball | 12/18/2015 2:54:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (4-3 overall, 3-2 SAC) concludes the pre-Christmas portion of its 2015-16 schedule Saturday, traveling to Brevard College (1-6 overall, 0-4 SAC) for a 2 p.m. South Atlantic Conference contest in Boshamer Gymnasium. The Wingate University Sports Network will provide a live audio broadcast. Brevard will provide live video and live stats.
 
On Wednesday, junior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) scored a Bulldog career-high 18 points (in 17 minutes) to lead Wingate to a 78-67 SAC triumph over Lincoln Memorial University Wednesday night in Tex Turner Arena. The Cape Fear Community College transfer hit eight-of-11 field goals Wednesday, nailing two-of-two from downtown.
 
Rumplasch led four Bulldogs in double figures. Wingate junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) had 15 points. Senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) and freshman point guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) added 11 points and 10 points, respectively. McGee and Robinson posted seven rebounds each as Wingate outrebounded LMU 44-31.
 
Tricoli tops the Bulldog charts with her 11.9 points per game. She steps up her game in SAC play, averaging 12.4 points per game in five league contests this season. Robinson and McGee contribute 9.7 points per game and 9.6 points per game, respectively. Three additional WU student-athletes average between 7.9 points per game and 8.1 points per game.
 
Wingate freshman guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) leads the team in rebounding (5.9 rebounds per game) and steals (12). Her 30.3 minutes per game are second only to Robinson's 32.1 minutes per contest. Witherspoon, Robinson, Tricoli, McGee and junior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) have started seven of seven games (each) for the Bulldogs this season.
 
Interestingly enough, Brevard's most recent game was also against the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters Monday night. LMU earned a hard-fought 72-70 victory at Brevard. The Torandos scored a season-high 70 points in the setback, led by junior guard Madison Lenox (Raleigh, N.C.) and her 16 points. Lenox filled out her statistics ledger with four assists, four rebounds and three steals.
 
BC senior guard Katie Williams (Robbinsville, N.C.) and senior forward Shelby Wolfe (Pittsboro, N.C.) had 14 points each against LMU, while senior guard Hadara Bannister (High Point, N.C.) pitched in 13 markers. The Tornados shot 41.1 percent from the floor, their second-best shooting night of the young 2015-16 campaign.
 
"Brevard will be a difficult match up for us," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "They have all their players back now from injury and are starting to gel. They played really well against LMU. They have so many scoring options. We will have to do a good job defending their personnel. Rebounding will also be a key again."
 
Lenox leads four Brevard players in double figures with her 14.9 points per game average. Bannister is next on the Tornados list with her 11.4 points per game. Both Wolfe and Williams post 11 points per game. Wolfe tops the BC charts with her 7.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Whitney DeMoss (Candler, N.C.) pulls down 6.9 rebounds per contest.
 
Wingate leads the SAC in team scoring average with its 72.7 points per game. In SAC play, the Bulldogs are posting 74.8 points per game. In Wingate's four victories this season, the 11-time SAC regular season champions are averaging 86.8 points per game.
 
THIS AND THAT
 
Wingate swept the season series over Brevard last year. On Jan. 24, point guard Brittany Hill ('15) established season-highs in points and rebounds and hit a huge second half three-point field goal to boost the Bulldogs to a 71-60 at Brevard. The victory gave Wingate its ninth straight triumph overall and its 11th consecutive league conquest.
 
Hill had 10 points, eight rebounds, four steals, two assists and no turnovers in a team-best 38 minutes of action Saturday. Wingate graduate student forward Andrea Bertrand ('16) led the visiting Bulldogs with 19 points. Tricoli netted 13 points, while graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar ('14, '16) had 11 points and eight boards.
 
For Brevard, Williams had 16 points. Lenox and junior forward Lynsey Crisp (Robbinsville, N.C.) tallied 12 points each for the home-standing Tornados. Lenox hit a game-high four three-point field goals in eight tries.
 
On Feb. 28, Wingate celebrated Senior Day with an 89-38 triumph over Brevard. The victory allowed the Bulldogs to run the 2014-15 SAC table at home as Wingate posted an 11-0 record in league games on their Cuddy Arena hardwood.
 
Eleven WU players participated in the Senior Day win and 11 players scored. Tricoli led the way with 16 points. Dunbar recorded her 25th career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Wingate forward Brooklyn Boston ('15) tallied a career-high 12 points in only 18 minutes. Bulldog senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) rounded out Wingate's double-figure scorers with 11 points.
 
For Brevard, junior guard Madison Lenox (Raleigh, N.C.) had 13 points. Lenox shared team-high honors with five rebounds. Senior guard Nicole Graham (Charlotte, N.C.) added six points on the strength of two three-point field goals. The Tornados hit only 25.5 percent of their field goals in the February contest (14-of-55).
 
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 82 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 82 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 91 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.