Women's Basketball | 3/12/2015 6:32:00 PM

Gaffney, S.C.----Every year, basketball players dream of the opportunity to participate in March Madness. The Wingate University women's basketball team (21-9 overall) will see its dreams come true Friday, as the number five seed Bulldogs will face number four seed Lander University (23-6 overall) in the first round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional tournament in Gaffney, S.C. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Limestone College's Timken Center (tournament central).
 
Limestone is the host for the three-day event. The LC Saints are the number one seed in the tourney. First-round games in eight regions will be played on Friday, March 13, with the semi-finals on Saturday, March 14. The eight regional championship games are slated for Monday, March 16. The South Atlantic Conference matched the 20-school Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference by sending five teams to this year's dance.
 
The Bulldogs lead the SAC with 13 appearances in the NCAA Division II national tournament. Wingate has an overall NCAA tourney record of 14-13 with Elite Eight appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2008. The Bulldogs have won 11 SAC regular season crowns and seven Food Lion SAC tournament championships.
 
Wingate is 6-3 overall against this year's field. The Bulldogs have two wins each over number six seed Newberry and number seven seed Carson-Newman. Wingate split two games each with number three seed Anderson (S.C.) and number eight seed Catawba. The Bulldogs lost a 69-63 decision to Lander in Cuddy Arena on Dec. 3, 2014.
 
In the December contest, Lander senior guard Aarika Judge (Augusta, Ga.) had 14 points and 10 rebounds as four Bearcat players hit double figures. The Bulldogs saw a three-game winning streak end in their 2014-15 home opener.
 
Lander junior guard Bre Crum (Tampa, Fla.) filled up her stat sheet with 12 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals. LU freshman forward Breshay Johnson (Hopkins, S.C.) and sophomore guard Ty'hesha Reynolds (Savannah, Ga.) contributed 10 points each for the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) members.
 
For Wingate, junior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Graduate student forward Andrea Bertrand (Midlothian, Va.) had 11 points. Wingate was zero-for-15 from three-point land Wednesday night. The Bulldog defense held the LU Bearcats 24 points below their (then) season average of 93.3 points per game.
 
On Thursday, Wingate graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) was one of five student-athletes named to the 2014-15 Daktronics/Division II Conference Commissioners Association women's basketball All-Southeast Region first team. Dunbar receives region honors for the first time in her illustrious Bulldog career.
 
Dunbar is a two-time All-South Atlantic Conference performer. She was first team this year and second team following her junior season (the 2012-13 campaign). The top SAC rebounder with 10.2 rebounds per game, Dunbar is Wingate's leading scorer with her 12.1 points per game.
 
Dunbar is second in the SAC with her 12 double-doubles this season. Newberry senior center Haylee Lepaio (Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia) leads the league with her 14 double-doubles. For her career, Dunbar has 26 double-doubles.
 
Bertrand joined Dunbar on the All-SAC team. She averaged 9.9 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. The Concord (W.Va.) graduate is one of five Bulldogs to see time in 30 of 30 games this season. Bertrand has started 17 of her 30 games, including the last 17 in a row.
 
Dunbar is one of three Wingate players who contribute double-digit points. McGee averages 10.7 points per game, while sophomore guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) adds 10.3 points per game. She leads the team with her 45.5 percent accuracy from behind the three-point line. Tricoli has hit 56 three-point field goals this season, second on the Bulldog charts to senior guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) and her 61 triples.
 
Both Tricoli and redshirt senior point guard Brittany Hill (Mechanicsville, Va.) earned honorable mention All-SAC laurels. Hill leads the SAC in two categories: assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4) and steals per game (2.9).
 
Hill is Wingate's top free-throw shooter with her 89.2 percent accuracy (66-of-74). She also tops the Bulldog charts with her 32.1 minutes played per game (932 minutes in 29 games). Hill's statistical ledger includes 5.6 points per game, 4.4 assists per game and 3.5 rebounds per game.
 
Breshay Johnson leads Lander with her 12.7 points per game. Ty'hesha Reynolds is next with her 12.6 points per game. Aarika Judge contributes 11.7 points per game. Lander is 1-2 overall against the regional field. The Bearcats have the aforementioned victory over Wingate and losses to Columbus State and Carson-Newman.
 
The pairings for the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional are as follows:

#1 Limestone (30-1 overall)
#8 Catawba (18-11 overall)

#4 Lander (23-6 overall)
#5 Wingate (21-9 overall)

#2 Columbus State (30-1 overall)
#7 Carson-Newman (19-10 overall)

#3 Anderson (S.C.) (25-4 overall)
#6 Newberry (21-10 overall)

The Wingate-Lander winner would play the Limestone-Catawba winner Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Southeast Regional semi-finals. The regional championship game is slated for 7 p.m. Monday.
 
The regional champions will advance to the NCAA Division II Women's Elite Eight March 24, 25 and 27 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Sioux Falls Sports Authority will host the Elite Eight.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University, ranked as the 10th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 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, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.

With a 14 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 eight 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 72 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 72 Academic All-America honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 81 lifetime Academic All-America picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.