Women's Basketball | 1/29/2016 3:07:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (10-6 overall, 7-5 SAC) will head to Greeneville, Tenn, this weekend to tip-off against host Tusculum College (9-7 overall, 7-6 SAC). Game time in the Pioneer Arena is 2 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs will look avenge their last match-up against the TC Pioneers, who escaped Cuddy Arena with a 57-56 victory on Dec. 13, 2015.
 
"Every game is crucial this time of year," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "There are so many teams in the middle of the pack in the SAC, it puts even more emphasis on winning on the road."
 
In the December contest, Tusculum senior guard Shynese Whitener (Newton, N.C.) scored 19 of her game-high 22 points after halftime. The visiting Pioneers trailed by 10 points at intermission before making their move. Whitener is the top SAC scorer with her 19 points per game. She has a SAC-best 304 total points as well.
 
TC junior forward Jasmine Queen (Riverview, Fla.) had 12 points and seven rebounds, including the game-winning free throw with six seconds to go. Freshman guard Sydney Wilson (Greensboro, N.C.) had 11 points on the strength of a team-high three three-point field goals. Pioneer senior forward Kristen McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) had a game-high 12 rebounds as Tusculum outrebounded Wingate 42-34.
 
For Wingate, freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) had 14 points and seven rebounds. Bulldog junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) had 13 points. She matched Tusculum's Wilson with three three-point field goals of her own. Wingate senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) had 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
 
Tusculum have won three of their last four games against SAC opponents. Following Whitener's lead are Wilson and freshman forward Kasey Johnson (Greensboro, N.C.), who average 11.5 points and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Whitener also leads the SAC in steals, collecting 3.5 steals per game.
 
"As the leading scorer in the SAC, Whitener is one of the toughest players in the league to defend," Hancock says. "She has the ability to make the defense pay no matter what the situation. The players around her have really stepped up and compliment her well. With three double-figure scorers they are extremely difficult to guard. We will need to be sharp defensively to try to take away some of the things they do best. We will also have to attack their zone with a sense of urgency. We want to play at our pace and not theirs."
 
Wingate rallied from a 17-point deficit before taking a tough 66-63 SAC home loss to Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday. The Bulldogs shot 23.1 percent from the field in fateful first half (six-of-26). Wingate shot 61.3 percent from the floor after intermission (19-of-31).
 
Witherspoon led the Bulldogs with 15 points, including 13 markers in the second half. Tricoli and junior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) contributed 11 points and 10 points, respectively. The Bulldogs will look to Tricoli and Witherspoon to lead the offensive charge Saturday.
 
Witherspoon is the current SAC leader in field goal percentage, having made 56.6 percent of her shots this season. She is averaging 10.3 points per game. Tricoli is the team's current leading scorer, with her 10.4 points per game contribution. Rumplasch will look to continue her good work, as she is currently ranked fourth in the SAC with her 53.0 field goal percentage.
 
This contest will feature an intense battle for possession off the boards. Wingate outrebounds its opponents by almost six boards per game. Witherspoon (5.5 rebounds per game) and McGee (5.2 rebounds per game) lead the Bulldogs. McMillion is Tusculum's top rebounder with her 8.4 rebounds per contest. McMillion is listed in the SAC top five in both rebounding and blocked shots (27).
 
Wingate University head coach Ann Hancock currently holds a 5-2 record against Tusculum during her three-year-plus tenure as head coach. She is determined to keep her team focused on getting the win on the road.
 
THIS AND THAT
 
Wingate won both meetings between the two schools last season. On Nov. 22, 2014, McGee posted a career-high 30 points to lead visiting Wingate to a 79-72 triumph over Tusculum. The Bulldogs never trailed in the November meeting, building a 21-point lead in the first half.
 
On Jan. 17, 2015, McGee and forward Chantal Dunbar ('14, '16) combined for 44 points and 21 rebounds, boosting the Bulldogs to an 87-65 home victory over Tusculum. McGee had a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds. Dunbar posted her 19th career double-double with 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Tricoli added 15 points on the strength of a game-high three three-point field goals.
 
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 FEB. 13
 
Wingate University head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock ('92) and the Bulldog family announce the re-scheduling of the Wingate women's basketball Alumni Day for Saturday, Feb. 13. The Bulldogs will face South Atlantic Conference foe Brevard College 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-BC game. The Bulldogs will also host their Play 4Kay (Pink Day) activities on Saturday, Feb. 13.
 
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.)