Mars Hill, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team put together a huge 8-0 run in the second overtime, claiming a 106-103 double overtime triumph over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Stanford Arena. Mars Hill rallied from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to force extra time.
 
With the win, Wingate improves to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SAC. The triumph gives Wingate head coach Ann Hancock 200 career victories. The Bulldog All-American guard won 138 games at UNC Wilmington (in 10 seasons). Hancock has 62 triumphs in four seasons at her alma mater. Mars Hill slips to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the SAC.
 
For Wingate, junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) posted a career-high 25 points. She hit 10-of-19 field goals with three-of-five accuracy from three-point land. Bulldog freshman point guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) also notched a career-high with 17 points. She added four assists, three rebounds and three steals to her statistical ledger Saturday.
 
Wingate sophomore center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) and freshman guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) added 10 points each. Miscenko had eight points (on four-of-four field goal shooting) in the pivotal second overtime, posting a career-high point total in only her fourth game in the Wingate Navy Blue and Vegas Gold. Thirteen Bulldogs saw action Saturday with 12 finding the scoring column.
 
Mars Hill had three players score 17 points each: redshirt senior guard Ansley Ricker (Greeneville, Tenn.), redshirt junior guard Genice Lane (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and senior forward Kelsey Espinosa (Austin, Texas). Six Lions hit double digits, as junior forward Shakira Allen (Asheville, N.C.) contributed 13 points. MHU junior guard Paige Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) and senior forward Cadence Wilmoth (Glade Spring, Va.) added 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
"We got into a rhythm in the second half and built a big lead," Hancock says. "Mars Hill caught fire…and couldn't miss in the fourth quarter. I am proud of our team…for how hard they fought. Marta Miscenko came up huge in the second overtime. This was a great college basketball game…I am glad we could get out of here with a victory."

Mars Hill led 95-91 in the second overtime when sophomore forward Raven Brown (Marietta, Ga.) hit two free throws with 3:07 to play. Wingate freshman guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) started the rally with a lay-up 13 seconds later. Witherspoon was fouled on the shot; she could not convert the free throw. Miscenko began her scoring flurry by putting back the miss to tie the game 95-95 at the 2:50 plateau.
 
Averette (2:17) and Miscenko (1:39) concluded the pivotal 8-0 run with lay-ups to make the score 99-95 Bulldogs with 99 ticks left on the second overtime clock. Miscenko made two buckets in the final 47 seconds and junior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) hit three-of-four free throws in the last eight seconds to keep the Lions at bay.

Mars Hill outscored Wingate 32-12 in the fourth quarter to force the first overtime. The Bulldogs led 67-50 on two free throws by Tomlinson with 7:49 left in the fourth frame. An inside hoop by Tricoli at the 4:40 mark pushed the margin to 73-56. The 17-point advantage was Wingate's largest of the afternoon.
 
The host Lions finished the fourth quarter on a 19-2 run to tie the contest at 75-75. Three MHU different players made three-point field goals during the flurry. Lane hit two, while Allen and Ricker nailed one each. Ricker's triple from the right side tied the game 75-75 with 26 seconds left in regulation.
 
Both teams scored 14 points each in the first overtime frame. Wingate shot 63.2 percent in the two overtime periods (12-of-19), while Mars Hill converted 60 percent (six-of-10) of its extra-time field goals. The Lions made 14-of-15 free throws (93.3 percent) in the two overtime sessions.
 
Wingate led 38-25 at halftime, thanks to 13 first-half points from Tricoli. Allen led Mars Hill with six first-half markers. The Bulldogs shot 44.4 percent in the first half (16-of-36), while the MHU Lions managed only 28.9 percent (11-of-38). The hosts made seven-of-12 three-point field goals after intermission to get back into the game.
 
Mars Hill outrebounded Wingate by a slim 53-52 margin. Lane had 11 rebounds to give her the game's only double-double. Both Lane and Chavis played a team-best 37 minutes. Lane filled out her stat sheet with four assists, four steals and four blocked shots.
 
Witherspoon continues to knock on the double-double door, as she recorded eight points and a team-high seven rebounds Saturday. She added a team-best four steals. Wingate finished the 50-minute contest shooting 47.1 percent from the floor (41-of-87) with 72 points in the paint. Mars Hill shot 39.5 percent from the field (34-of-86) with only 38 points in the paint.
 
Mars Hill turned 20 Wingate turnovers into 25 points. Wingate managed only 14 points from 18 MHU miscues. The Lions held a 22-18 advantage in second-chance points, while the Bulldogs won the fast-break points (14-6) and bench points (40-39) categories.
 
Wingate hosts Newberry Tuesday for a 12 noon SAC encounter in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. 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. Mars Hill hosts Catawba for a 2 p.m. SAC game on Saturday, Dec. 12.

GAME NOTES
 
Wingate's last 100-point game was almost five years ago, when the host Bulldogs defeated King (Tenn.) 106-98 on Dec. 18, 2010. Interestingly enough, Wingate's last 100-point venture in SAC play was also against Mars Hill. The visiting MHU Lions claimed a 101-100 overtime victory over the Bulldogs on Feb. 17, 2010.

Ann Hancock at UNC Wilmington

2000-01: 9-19 (.321)
2001-02: 16-14 (.533)
2002-03: 22-6 (.786)
2003-04: 15-13 (.536)
2004-05: 8-20 (.286)
2005-06: 15-13 (.536)
2006-07: 8-23 (.258)
2007-08: 17-14 (.548)
2008-09: 16-15 (.516)
2009-10: 12-19 (.387)

Ann Hancock at Wingate

2012-13: 13-16 (.448)
2013-14: 24-6 (.800)
2014-15: 22-10 (.688)
2015-16: 3-1 (.750)

Career: 200-189 (.514)