Women's Basketball | 1/8/2016 8:10:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (8-3 overall, 5-2 SAC) concludes a three-home-games-in-four-dates stretch Saturday, hosting Carson-Newman University (10-3 overall, 4-3 SAC) 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 for the South Atlantic Conference contest is slated for 2 p.m.
 
The Bulldogs have won five games in a row, while the C-N Eagles have won three straight contests. Wingate is tied for second place (with Coker and Newberry) in the 2015-16 SAC standings. Carson-Newman is one of three teams who are one game back on the league list. Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial share Carson-Newman's 4-3 SAC mark.
 
On Wednesday, Wingate freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds as the home-standing Bulldogs edged Coker College 61-60. Wingate junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) and junior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) had 11 points each in the winning effort.
 
The Bulldogs led by 10 points midway through the third quarter before surviving a furious Coker rally. Rumplasch and the Wingate reserves outscored the Cobra bench 21-2 Wednesday. Wingate has had two one-point home contests this season. On Dec. 13, visiting Tusculum outlasted Wingate 57-56 in Cuddy Arena.
 
Witherspoon and Tricoli share the WU team scoring lead with identical 10.9 points per game averages. The Bulldogs are balanced, as six players post averages between 7.7 points per game and 10.9 points per game. Wingate leads the SAC in field goal percentage (43.3 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (39.0 percent).
 
Interestingly enough, Wingate is 11th in the SAC in three-point field goals attempted with 118. Only Tusculum (108 tries) has attempted fewer triples this season. By contrast, Carson-Newman tops the SAC charts in three-point field goals made (104) and three-point field goals attempted (271). The Eagles' 38.4 three-point field goal percentage is second behind Wingate on the league's list.
 
C-N senior guard Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) leads the Eagles with her 14.8 points per game average. Junior guard Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.) is next on the list with her 13.2 points per game contribution. Carson-Newman is also very balanced with eight players falling between 6.1 points per game and 14.8 points per game.
 
The Carson-Newman versus Wingate contest may hinge on rebounding. The Bulldogs are first in the SAC with 29.3 defensive rebounds per game. Carson-Newman is 10th on the league's defensive rebounding list with 23.7 per game. The WU Bulldogs are second in the SAC with their 43.7 rebounds per game. Only Lincoln Memorial (44.6 rebounds per game) averages more rebounds per contest than the Bulldogs.
 
Witherspoon leads Wingate with her 6.6 rebounds per game. Senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) is next with 5.5 rebounds per game, while freshman point guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) is third on the WU list with her 5.3 boards per game. For C-N, sophomore forward Jessica Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.) leads the way with her 5.1 rebounds per game.
 
THIS AND THAT
 
The Bulldogs won both games between the two teams last season. On Jan. 3, 2015, Wingate built a 16-point second half lead and endured a furious Carson-Newman rally on the way to a 66-63 SAC victory. Tricoli matched her (then) career-high with 22 points. She posted 20 of her 22 markers in the first half.
 
Carson-Newman senior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 13 points in the January 2015 contest, while Simerly added 11 points. Simerly hit five-of-seven field goals as the Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 36-22 on points in the paint.
 
On Feb. 14, 2015, Wingate shot a season-best 54.2 percent from the floor in a 78-51 SAC triumph over Carson-Newman in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. Tricoli led five Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points. McGee had 12 points. Brooks was one of two Eagle players in double figures, thanks to her 10 points.
 
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.