Women's Basketball | 1/5/2016 8:49:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (7-3 overall, 4-2 SAC) rides a four-game winning streak into its first home game of 2016, as the Bulldogs host Coker College (6-6 overall, 5-1 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.
 
Coker is second in the South Atlantic Conference standings, while Wingate is tied with three teams (Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial and Newberry) for third place on the league charts. The Bulldogs defeated Shaw University 73-65 Saturday, as 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.
 
The Bulldogs hit 53.3 percent of their second half field goals (16-of-30) Saturday, winning their final non-conference contest of the 2015-16 season. Coker played its final non-conference contest Wednesday, Dec. 30, dropping an 83-57 decision to number 18 Benedict (S.C.). The Tigers are 14-1 overall. The Cobras only league loss was an 87-57 setback to number 15 Anderson (S.C.). The AU Trojans are 8-1 overall.
 
"Coker is a very talented team that is playing well right now," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "They play with a purpose and have several key players who make them really tough to defend."
 
Brand-new (September 2015) Coker head women's basketball coach Shannon Johnson is a native of Hartsville, S.C. and an Olympic gold medalist. In addition, Johnson is a seven-time WNBA All-Star. "Coach Johnson has a nice balance of new players who have blended well with the pieces they already had in place," Hancock says.
 
"We will need to have great effort on the glass as well as a tremendous team defensive effort to stop (senior guard) Jazz Green (Darlington, S.C.), who is one of the best players in the league," Hancock says. "Every game from now on is of the utmost importance. The SAC is balanced and every team is tough."
 
Green leads Coker (and ranks third in the SAC) in both scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounding (9.1 rebounds per game). All total, three Coker student-athletes average double-figure points. Sophomore guard Kendra Lambert (Palmyra, Ind.) contributes 11.2 points per game, while senior forward Terrika Foster (Spartanburg, S.C.) posts 10.7 points per game.
 
Coker is third on the SAC's team scoring charts (67.8 points per game), while Wingate is second with 70.8 points per game. The Bulldogs lead the league in team field goal percentage (43.9 percent) and team three-point field goal percentage (40.5 percent). Wingate's three-point accuracy is the eighth-best marksmanship in the NCAA Division II.
 
Witherspoon leads the balanced Bulldogs with 11.0 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game. Wingate has six players between 8.1 points per game and 11.0 points per game. Tricoli is next on the list with her 10.9 points per game. Witherspoon tops the WU charts with her 58.1 percent shooting from the floor, while Tricoli leads the 'Dogs with her 14 three-point field goals.

THIS AND THAT
 
Wingate won both meetings between the two schools last season. On Jan. 28, 2015, Wingate led wire-to-wire on the way to a 71-44 SAC victory in Hartsville. Wingate graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar ('14, '16) led the way with 16 points. Tricoli contributed 15 points. Reigning SAC Player of Week and WU graduate student forward Andrea Bertrand had 13 points and nine rebounds, while guard Kelli Bonner ('15, '17) posted 10 points.
 
Dunbar posted her 22nd career double-double with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds on Feb. 18, 2015, helping the first-place Bulldogs to a 72-68 SAC triumph over Coker in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Wingate earned its 19th victory of the season with the victory.
 
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.

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.