Salisbury, N.C.----The Catawba College women's lacrosse team bounced back from a slim halftime deficit, taking a 15-11 South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse tournament quarter-final victory over visiting Wingate University at Shuford Stadium and Kirkland Field Tuesday night. Catawba improves to 9-8 overall, while Wingate concludes its second women's lacrosse season with an identical 9-8 overall record.
 
Indian freshman attack Caroline Beggs (St. Johns, Fla.) led the hosts with five goals and one assist. Catawba junior attack Alyssa Corace (Mahopac, N.J.) posted four goals, while sophomore attack Kirstyn Kruse (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) and sophomore midfield Nicolette Salay (Columbus, N.J.) had two goals each. Kruse dished out one assist.
 
For Wingate, sophomore midfield Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) had a Bulldog career-high four goals. She had three scores in Wingate's tournament berth-clinching triumph over Newberry Saturday. WU junior team captain Erin Murphy (Mooresville, N.C.) added three goals and one assist, while junior midfield Emily Nosek (Bel Air, Md.) posted one goal and two helpers.
 
Murphy gave the visitors a 7-6 lead with 6:53 left in the first half. Beggs answered three minutes later, knotting the score for the second time in the opening 30 minutes. Wingate sophomore midfield Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.) gave Wingate the 8-7 edge at halftime, as she tallied an unassisted goal 15 seconds prior to intermission.
 
Catawba outshot Wingate 20-11 in the first frame, but WU freshman goalie Nicole Hinkle (Fallston, Md.) posted seven saves to boost the Bulldog defense. Dempsey and Beggs led their respective teams with three first-half goals each. Murphy had two for the 'Dogs, while Salay found the back of the first-half nets twice as well.
 
The Indians scored the first three goals of the second half to take a lead they would not relinquish. Corace had the last two goals of the mini-run, giving her team a 12-10 advantage with 27:09 left in the second stanza.
 
Murphy scored on a free-position shot (18:44) and then Beggs nudged the Catawba margin back to two at the 16:35 mark. Dempsey sliced the deficit to 11-10 moments later, but Wingate would get no closer. Four different Indians scored one goal each over the next 10 minutes to put the game out of reach. Wingate freshman attack Jaclyn Chiesa (Canton, Ga.) tallied the game's last goal to settle the final margin.
 
Catawba won 18 draw controls, compared to eight for Wingate. The Indians scored two power-play goals (both in the second half). The Bulldogs converted three free-position shots (six tries), while the Indians recorded two free-position goals in eight attempts.
 
The Bulldogs held a 13-10 shot advantage in the second half. Catawba had 30 shots Tuesday night, compared to 24 for Wingate. Both teams had 17 ground balls. Catawba had 15 turnovers, compared to 13 miscues for Wingate.
 
Indian junior goalie Bethany Davis (Salisbury, Md.) posted her ninth victory of the season, allowing 11 goals and recording seven saves in 60 minutes. Hinkle concluded her first season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold with eight saves and 15 goals allowed.
 
Wingate returns its entire team intact for the 2016 season. The Bulldogs won nine games this year, one more game than they played during the team's inaugural 2014 season. Catawba advances to Friday's SAC semi-final round for a 4 p.m. meeting with NCAA Division II number 13 Queens University of Charlotte. The Royals are the SAC regular season champions and the tourney's number one seed.