Raleigh, N.C.----Wingate University junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.), freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) and junior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) combined for 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the visiting Bulldogs to a 73-65 NCAA Division II victory over Shaw University Saturday afternoon at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium. The Bulldogs hit 53.3 percent of their second half field goals (16-of-30).

Wingate improves to 7-3 overall in its final non-conference contest of the 2015-16 season. Shaw falls to 9-4 overall. The Bulldogs return to South Atlantic Conference play Wednesday, hosting Coker at 6 p.m. Shaw hosts CIAA foe Chowan University Monday at 6 p.m.
 
Tricoli led the visitors with 19 points, adding three rebounds and three assists to her statistical ledger. Witherspoon had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Playing her first intercollegiate game in her hometown, Tomlinson did not disappoint with her 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The WU trio hit 19-of-30 field goals Saturday (63.3 percent).
 
Shaw senior guard Tabatha Anderson (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) led the host Bears with 18 points. Anderson hit seven-of-nine field goals and four-of-six shots from downtown. SU senior guard Kaula Jacks (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) had 10 points for the Bears. Shaw made 48.5 percent of its first-half shots (16-of-33), but managed only 35.7 percent shooting after intermission (10-of-28).

"This is a really big win for us," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "Shaw is an outstanding team...very athletic and capable of putting up a lot of points. I was very pleased with our defensive effort…to hold Shaw below its (scoring) average and to win the battle of the boards…this is a big day for us."
 
The two teams battled to a 34-34 halftime tie. Witherspoon had eight first-half points, while Tricoli contributed seven markers. Anderson had eight points for Shaw, while Jacks and sophomore forward Laquisha Taylor (Charlotte, N.C.) had six points each in the opening two quarters.
 
The Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 41-34 lead on a Tricoli triple with 7:58 to play in the frame. Witherspoon had the first two hoops of the 7-0 run for the visitors.
 
Shaw responded with an 11-4 push to tie the game. Anderson had eight of the 11 points, concluding the run with a steal and a lay-up to tie the contest for the sixth (and final) time at 45-45. Anderson started the flurry with back-to-back three-point field goals.
 
Tricoli, Tomlinson and Witherspoon lifted Wingate to a 14-5 margin to conclude the third quarter. Tomlinson broke the 45-45 tie with her second three-point field goal of the contest to make the score 48-45 with 4:53 to go in the period. Tricoli had seven points in the game-changing segment, with Tomlinson adding five points and Witherspoon two points. The Bulldogs led 59-50 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Tricoli opened the fourth frame with a short jumper (8:39) to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead at 61-50. Shaw would get no closer than the eight-point finishing margin in the final 10 minutes. Both Witherspoon and Tomlinson had four points each in the fourth, helping to keep the SU Bears at bay.
 
Wingate outrebounded Shaw 44-29. The Bulldogs pulled down 15 offensive boards, which they converted into 17 second-chance points. Witherspoon and Tomlinson led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds each, while senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) corralled six caroms. Two Shaw players had five rebounds each. The Bears had only eight offensive rebounds, scoring seven second-chance points as a result.
 
The Bulldogs had 48 points in the paint, compared to 22 for the Bears. The Shaw bench outscored the Wingate substitutes 22-10. Taylor topped the SU reserve charts with nine points. She had a team-best (tying) three steals as well.
 
"Shaw is a very difficult place to play," Hancock says. "We had great effort from every player today. I was very happy for (sophomore guard) Taziya Moody (Columbia, S.C.). She entered the game and gave us quality minutes, allowing us to give (freshman guard) Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) some important rest."