Women's Basketball | 1/19/2016 4:47:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (9-5 overall, 6-4 SAC) will look to rebound from two narrow losses last week as they host Queens University of Charlotte (2-12 overall, 0-9 SAC) Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. The Wingate University Sports Network will provide a live video stream via its partnership with ESPN3 (live video, live statistics). Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
 
"This is an important game for us," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "We are certainly glad to be back home at Cuddy Arena. Queens has been playing well. They will be challenging because they do some things defensively that we don't see very often." 
 
Leading the Bulldog charge will be junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) and senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.), averaging 10.4 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) is right on the upperclassmen's heels with her 10.2 points per game contribution.
 
On Saturday, defending SAC champion Anderson built a 16-point second quarter lead and withstood multiple Wingate University rallies on the way to an 89-87 victory. Wingate freshman guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) had a career-high 22 points. She hit nine-of-13 field goal attempts Saturday.
 
McGee had 13 points, while junior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) contributed 12 markers. WU junior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) added 10 points. The Bulldogs won four of the five primary specialty statistical categories Saturday, holding a 50-30 advantage on points in the paint. Wingate's bench outscored Anderson's reserves 28-16. The Bulldogs held 20-14 and 20-13 edges in points off turnovers and second-chance points, respectively.
 
The Royals of Queens are led by sophomore guard Carmen Richardson (Rocky Mount, N.C.), who averages 13.7 points per game. Junior guard/forward McKell Oliverio (Florence, Ky.) posts 11.3 points per game. Richardson holds a team-high average of 5.6 rebounds per game, while junior center Maggie Steward (Otto, N.C.) will look to do work on the boards as well with her 4.9 rebounds per game.
 
Most recently, Queens dropped a 74-55 SAC decision to Tusculum Saturday. Oliverio topped the QU charts with 13 points. She pulled down six rebounds as well. Richardson and sophomore guard Sheridan Pressley (Candler, N.C.) added 11 points and 10 points, respectively, for the Royals.
 
Wingate will head into this contest ranked first in the South Atlantic Conference in field goal percentage at 43.7 percent. Witherspoon's 54.1 percent accuracy from the floor is second in the SAC. She will also be looking to stay on her toes on the boards, as Witherspoon averages a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game. McGee follows closely behind at 5.6 rebounds per game.
 
"We will need to have patience and be able to attack inside," Hancock says. "If we can get the ball in the paint by drive or pass, good things usually happen. Rebounding will also be a key to success for us Wednesday."
 
THIS AND THAT

Wingate is tied for third place (with three other teams) in the crowded SAC standings (through games played Jan. 16). Earlier this season, the Bulldogs put together a six-game winning streak, spanning late December and early January. Wingate head coach Ann Hancock is 4-0 overall against the Royals during her three-years-and-change tenure as Bulldog head coach.
 
Wingate swept the season series with the Royals last year. On Jan. 14, 2015, Wingate forward Chantal Dunbar ('14, '16) had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to a 67-50 SAC road victory at Queens. Three players hit double figures for the visiting Bulldogs. Oliverio led all scorers with 22 points.
 
On Feb. 11, 2015, McGee had game-high honors with 13 points as Wingate earned a 50-44 triumph over Queens in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs shot a season-low 28 percent from the floor (14-of-50), including a frigid 22.6 percent in the first half (seven-of-31).
 
Wingate won the February game on the charity stripe, hitting 20-of-32 free throws (62.5 percent). The visiting Royals made four more field goals (18), but converted only seven-of-12 free throws (58.3 percent). Queens senior guards Erin Brundage (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Karleasha Thompson (Stockton, Calif.) had eight points each. The Royals committed 24 turnovers which the Bulldogs converted into 25 points. Queens scored only 10 points off 15 Wingate mistakes.
 
The Bulldogs lead the SAC with 13 appearances in the NCAA Division II national tournament. Wingate has an overall NCAA tourney record of 15-14 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 finished second in the SAC regular season standings last year.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALUMNI DAY IS JAN. 23
 
Wingate University head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock ('92) and the Bulldog family announce Wingate women's basketball Alumni Day for Saturday, Jan. 23. The Bulldogs will face South Atlantic Conference foe Mars Hill University as part of the festivities in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Tip-off for this contest is 2 p.m.
 
The day begins at 11 a.m. with a chance for the alumni to meet and greet the current team. The alumni will be served a catered lunch at 11:30 a.m. Both the meet-and-greet opportunity and the lunch will be held at the Jesse Helms Center in Wingate.
 
Campus tours will be available from 12:45 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. The Wingate Outfitters (bookstore) will be open as well. The Wingate women's basketball alumni will be recognized at halftime of the WU-MHU game.
 
Alumni can register (and view an attendee list) at this link. For more details, please contact Ann Hancock via E-mail at a.hancock@wingate.edu or via phone at 704-233-8172. Hancock and her team look forward to celebrating the past, present and future accomplishments of the Wingate women's basketball alumni.
 
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.
 
(Wingate University athletics intern Phillip Pruett, Jr. contributed this article. Pruett is senior at Temple University, majoring in Sport and Recreation Management.)