Women's Basketball | 11/26/2016 6:05:00 PM

Pembroke, N.C. ----The Wingate University Bulldog women's basketball team will face an early-season road test in a non-conference showdown versus the UNC Pembroke Braves at the English E. Jones Center in Pembroke, N.C. Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is slated for a 1:30 p.m. start.

Wingate is off to a solid start in their 2016-17 campaign at 3-1 overall and a perfect 2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference, currently sitting at first place in the conference standings. UNC Pembroke is 2-0 with back-to-back non-conference victories to begin the season. The Braves have also played two exhibition contests against the N.C State Wolfpack and UNC Greensboro Spartans.

"UNC Pembroke will be a good test for us," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "They are very athletic…shooting it well and playing with confidence. They are always really tough defensively, which challenges us to take care of the ball as well as be disciplined in our execution. Rebounding will be important for us and not giving up fast break points. They have a talented group of perimeter players who push the ball in transition which compliments their inside players."

Wingate Players to Watch

WU junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) continues to lead the Bulldogs offensive attack, averaging a double-double with 19 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest. The Division I University of Texas at El Paso transfer also has totaled three steals and 12 blocked shots, along with shooting 54.8 percent from the field.

Sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) is second on the Bulldog scoring charts with 11.5 points, 4.8 boards and one assist per game. Averette has also posted two steals, one blocked shot and leads the 'Dogs with a stellar 56.8 field goal percentage. The Midlothian High School graduate is fourth in the SAC with a 66.7 three-point field goal percentage.

WU sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) ranks third in scoring with 9.5 points, six rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. The Hickory High School product has also compiled four steals and a block on the season.

Bulldog senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) is averaging eight points per game in her final campaign in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold, along with 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. Tricoli, Witherspoon and Miscenko have each started in four of four games for Wingate. Averette has earned a start at the guard position in the last two contests versus SAC foes Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne. Senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) has averaged six points, three rebounds and 1.8 rebounds coming off the bench.

UNC Pembroke Players to Watch

Braves senior forward Jonissa Monley (Laurinburg, N.C.) tops the UNCP scoring charts with 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and one assist per contest. Monley also has posted a 50.0 field goal percentage through two games. Senior guard Jasmine Huntley (Indian Trail, N.C) and junior guard Ebone Stevens (Kernersville, N.C.) have each averaged 12 points per game. A Union County product from Porter Ridge High School, Huntley has posted 4.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in two games with seven total steals.

UNCP junior guard Blair Silliman (Ankeny, Iowa) is third on the Braves team scoring list with 11 points and two rebounds per game. Senior guard LaShonda Prichard (Havelock, N.C.) averages eight points and five rebounds in the Braves' two games this season with a team-leading four blocked shots.

Wingate Coaches

The Bulldogs are led by fifth-year head coach Ann Hancock ('92) who arrived on the Wingate campus for the 2012-13 season to coach her alma mater. Hancock has compiled a 222-198 career record (UNC Wilmington and Wingate), including mentoring her WU team to a 24-6 overall record in 2013-14 and 21-9 mark a season ago during the 2015-16 campaign. Wingate won the SAC Tournament championship in both seasons. 

Prior to returning to her alma mater, Hancock spent two seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at East Carolina University. Before her tenure with the Pirates, Hancock was head women's basketball coach at UNC Wilmington for 10 seasons and was an assistant coach for eight seasons at UNC Chapel Hill under legendary head coach Sylvia Hatchell. She helped the Tar Heels win the 1994 NCAA Division I National Championship. 

Coach Hancock is assisted by new full-time assistant women's basketball coach Celeste Stewart, who spent her previous two seasons as a graduate assistant on the WU coaching staff. Stewart was a basketball student-athlete at East Carolina University. As a point guard for the ECU Pirates, Stewart was named to the first team All-C-USA as a senior. She will use her impressive basketball resume to help lead the Bulldogs to another successful season in 2016-17 and beyond. 

Katelyn Grisillo joined the Bulldog coach staff in the summer of 2016 after spending the previous two seasons as the point guard for the University of South Carolina Aiken Pacers. She started in 28 games her senior season. Prior to her arrival at USC Aiken, Grisillo was a student-athlete for the Division I Presbyterian College Blue Hose. Grisillo works with assistant coach Celeste Stewart and the post players.

UNC Pembroke Coaches

The Braves are led by 13th-year head coach John Haskins who enters his 28th tenure in the UNC Pembroke athletic department. Haskins also spent 10 seasons as the UNCP men's basketball head coach as well. Coach Haskins has compiled a 143-162 overall record in his career as the head women's basketball coach, becoming the winningest coach in the program's 40-year history.

Prior to UNC Pembroke, Haskins spent one year as an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington and four seasons at Gardner Webb University. Haskins joined the UNCP athletic staff as an assistant men's basketball coach for former Director of Athletics Dan Kenney from 1989-92.

Haskins is assisted by 10th-year women's basketball assistant coach Kapica Davis. She began her coaching career with her stint at UNCP as a two-year graduate assistant before being promoted to a full-time assistant in 2004. Davis was a women's basketball student-athlete at Division III DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where she lettered four years and helped lead the Tigers to four consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships.

The UNCP coaching staff is also accompanied by graduate assistant coaches Donald Bohannon and Ty Wallace, along with volunteer assistant Joey Autry. Autry was a former baseball student-athlete for the Braves and Division III Methodist University in Fayetteville prior to the commencement of his basketball coaching career.

Wingate's Last Game

The Bulldogs returned to the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court for their 2016-17 home opener in a key SAC match-up versus the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears. Wingate improved upon their perfect record in conference action with a wire-to-wire 58-42 triumph. Marta Miscenko and Caroline Averette led the WU offensive attack with 15 points each. Miscenko posted her third double-double of the season with her team-best 10 rebounds.

Wingate never trailed in the contest, sprinting out to an early 11-2 advantage and never looking back. LRU kept it a close contest over the course of the first half, trailing by a narrow margin of 28-25 at the halftime intermission. The Bulldogs outscored the Bears 17-4 in the third quarter of play to take a commanding 45-29 advantage for Wingate's largest lead of the evening.

The 'Dogs shot 40 percent from the field compared to a 32.3 field goal percentage from the visiting Bears. Wingate had the slight 40-38 edge in rebounding with nine total steals. LRU posted four takeaways. The Bulldogs outscored Lenoir-Rhyne 36-28 in the paint, 19-18 in second chance baskets and 17-14 in points from the reserves.

Eleven Bulldogs played in the contest and 10 found the scoring column. Kristina Rumplasch and Danasia Witherspoon posted six points each. Witherspoon added to her statistical ledger with six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

UNC Pembroke's Last Game

The Braves ventured to Fayetteville State University for a non-conference battle against the Broncos of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) from the Felton J. Capel Arena in Fayetteville. UNCP trailed by a double digit margin in the first quarter, but mounted an impressive comeback to win by a final score of 71-64.

UNC Pembroke used 41 points from the reserves and Jasmine Huntley's first career double-double (10 points, 10 assists) to earn the Braves' second victory of the 2016-17 campaign. The Broncos led by a score of 16-6 in the first stanza, but UNCP stormed back with an 11-0 run to take a 17-16 lead at the 8:08 mark in the second quarter.

It was a tightly-contested battle throughout the remainder of the non-conference clash. Fayetteville State regained the 56-55 lead with 5:40 remaining in the contest, but the Braves quickly took it back with back-to-back made free throws from Jonissa Monley to make the score 57-56 at the 4:18 mark in the final stanza. UNCP held onto the narrow advantage for the rest of the game.

Monley led all Pembroke scorers with 18 points, nine rebounds and a blocked shot. Ebone Stevens ranked second on the Braves scoring charts with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

The UNCP defense held the FSU Broncos to a 29.9 field goal percentage (20-of-67) and 15 percent from beyond the arc (three-of-20). The Braves shot 37.7 percent from the field (23-of-61) and 40 percent from behind the three-point line (six-of-15). FSU outrebounded UNCP 47-46.

Last Season's Match-up

Wingate defeated UNC Pembroke in the Bulldogs' 2015-16 home opener from Cuddy Arena by a final score of 79-61 on Dec. 1, 2015. WU guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) posted a team-high 14 points to lead the hosts, while adding eight rebounds and five assists to her statistical portfolio. Caroline Averette compiled a (then) career-high 13 points by shooting a perfect five-for-five from the field, including three-of-three from three-point range.

Witherspoon narrowly missed a double-double performance with 10 points and nine rebounds. She also filled out her stat sheet with three assists, two steals and one blocked shot. A three-pointer from Robinson gave the Bulldogs a 20-18 advantage with 6:39 in the second quarter of play and the hosts never looked back.

The Braves would get no closer than seven points in the second half and Wingate's largest lead came with 39 seconds remaining when the 'Dogs took a commanding 79-59 advantage. Wingate shot an impressive 46.3 percent from the floor (31-of-67) and held the Braves to 32.8 percent shooting (20-of-61). The Bulldogs also outrebounded UNC Pembroke 47-38 with help from a combined 17 rebounds by Robinson and Witherspoon.

Jasmine Huntley had 15 points off the UNCP bench. Monley added a team-high seven rebounds along with six points for the visitors. Braves power forward Phoenicia Lawson (Reidsville, N.C.) contributed four points, five rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 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 10 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 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.

(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate. He is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)