Newberry, S.C.----Wingate University graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) posted her 24th career double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds, lifting the Bulldogs to a 68-60 South Atlantic Conference victory at Newberry College Wednesday night. Bulldog redshirt senior point guard Brittany Hill (Mechanicsville, Va.) added a WU career-high 13 points for the visiting Bulldogs.

With the victory, the Bulldogs improve to 20-8 overall and 18-3 in the SAC. Wingate records its 23rd 20-win season in the school's senior college history. Newberry is 18-9 overall and 14-7 in the SAC. Wingate hosts Brevard for Senior Day Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Wingate junior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) had 11 points off the Bulldog bench, helping the WU reserves outscore their Newberry counterparts 19-7. Newberry senior forward Hayley Lepaio (Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia) had a game-high 19 points for the host Wolves. She pulled down 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward/guard Jaya Schultz (Santa Clarita, Calif.) added 11 points and five rebounds for the hosts.
 
"I am so happy and proud of the team," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "They battled and fought hard against a tough Newberry team. Brittany stepped up and made big plays defensively and dished out a fantastic assist when we needed it. Chantal was relentless on the boards. This was a team effort. Morgan came in and gave us a burst of energy as well. Hopefully, we can use this to get ready for the stretch run."
 
The hard-fought contest featured 10 tie scores and seven lead changes. Newberry scored the first 11 points of the ball game to take an 11-0 lead on an old-fashioned three-point play by Lepaio with five minutes elapsed. Wingate responded with an 18-6 run, capped by a Dunbar jumper at the 10:26 mark to give the visitors their first lead of the evening.
 
Newberry led 33-32 at intermission, thanks to 11 points from Lepaio and nine points each from junior guard/forward Samantha Creed (Montmorency, Victoria, Australia) and junior guard Zara Pearson (Echuca, Victoria, Australia). Eight different Wingate players scored in the first half, led by Dunbar and McGee with six points each. Newberry shot 59.1 percent in the first frame (13-of-22), while Wingate hit at a 48.3 percent clip (14-of-29).
 
The Wolves led 52-47 after two free throws by junior guard Emily Perry (Nambour, Queensland, Australia) with eight minutes to play. Wingate put together a 14-2 flurry to take a 61-54 lead on a Dunbar lay-up with 3:24 to go. Five Bulldog student-athletes contributed to the push, led by Hill with four points and McGee and sophomore guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) with three points each.
 
Schultz hit back-to-back baskets to pull the hosts within three (63-60) with 1:42 remaining in regulation. The Wolves would not score again, as Dunbar added an insurance basket with a minute left. Hill made two-of-two free throws (0:44) and senior guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) added one charity toss (0:27) to settle the final margin.

Newberry's field goal shooting cooled off in the second half, as the Wolves hit only 30.8 percent of their shots after the break (eight-of-26). Wingate hit 40 percent of its second-half field goal attempts (12-of-30) to finish the night at 44.1 percent (26-of-59). The Bulldogs outscored the Wolves 38-26 in the paint.
 
Wingate converted 19 Newberry turnovers into 22 points. Newberry scored 13 points off 14 Wingate mistakes. Thanks in large part to Dunbar's six offensive rebounds, the Bulldogs scored 18 second-chance points as a result of 15 offensive boards. The Wolves managed only seven second-chance points from eight offensive rebounds.
 
Wingate will honor six fourth-year players following Saturday's SAC regular season finale with Brevard. In addition to Dunbar, Hill and Bonner, the Bulldogs will recognize seniors Brooklyn Boston (Lenoir, N.C.) and Jasmine DeBerry (Charlotte, N.C.) and graduate student Andrea Bertrand (Midlothian, Va.).