Mars Hill, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) posted 18 points (on nine-of-12 shooting), four rebounds and two assists to lead the Bulldogs to an 80-72 road triumph over the Mars Hill University Lions in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action from Stanford Arena Saturday. Wingate improves to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the SAC. Mars Hill is now 2-6 overall and 0-2 in league action.
"Winning on the road in the SAC is always difficult," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "I was proud of how we kept our composure when Mars Hill made a run. We made key free throws down the stretch, which were important."
WU junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) and senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) scored double-figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Miscenko also compiled seven rebounds, while Rumplasch tallied five boards in the contest.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest, sprinting out to the early 9-0 advantage at the 7:47 mark in the opening quarter with four consecutive field goals from Miscenko. The Division I University of Texas El Paso began the game shooting five-for-five from the floor with a converted lay-up to make it an 11-5 Wingate lead with 6:47 remaining.
Mars Hill would not get any closer than two points in the first stanza, trimming the deficit down 13-11 on a three-point jumper from senior guard Paige Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) with 4:55 to go. With Wingate leading 15-12 at the 2:29 mark, the 'Dogs used a 10-2 mini-run to close out the stanza, leading by a score of 25-15 at the break between quarters.
Wingate led by a double-digit margin for the majority of the second quarter until a lay-up from MHU freshman forward Jenny Edwards (Gainesville, Ga.) cut the deficit down to single digits at 34-25 with 3:19 remaining.
A two-point basket from freshman guard Aliyah Farmer (Salisbury, N.C.) made it a 34-27 game at the 2:39 mark. A three-pointer from WU senior guard and 2017 Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® nominee Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) extended the Bulldog advantage to 37-27 with 2:02 remaining. Wingate led 39-29 at the halftime intermission.
The Bulldogs again maintained the 10-plus point advantage for over seven minutes in the third quarter, but a three-point field goal from Mars Hill freshman guard Madison Ervin (Morganton, N.C.) cut the margin down to nine points at 53-44 with 2:40 remaining.
WU sophomore guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) hit a two-point jumper to extend the Bulldog advantage to 11 points (55-44) with 1:06 to go; however, the Lions hit a lay-up with 22 seconds remaining in the third stanza to make the score 55-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
It was a much more tightly-contested battle in the fourth quarter as the MHU Lions began with a 9-0 rally to trim the deficit down to 57-55 on a Chavis three-pointer at the 7:47 mark. Wingate continued to hang on to the advantage, leading by a narrow margin of 61-59 with 5:23 to go. The Bulldogs then used a huge 10-2 run to add some breathing room, leading by a score of 71-61 thanks to a Witherspoon lay-up with 2:18 remaining.
Mars Hill would get no closer than four points for the remainder of the contest, trailing 76-72 with 18 seconds left on the clock. Two made free throws from WU graduate student guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) pushed the Bulldog lead out to 78-72 with 17 seconds remaining. Wingate sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) hit the final two free throws with nine seconds left in the game to give the visitors an 80-73 victory. Averette finished with seven points, five rebounds and four assists for her final statistical ledger.
"Mars Hill is a tough and scrappy team," Hancock says. "They attacked the basket and put us in some bad spots where we either fouled or they scored. We will have to do a better job of defending off the dribble."
MHU had four student-athletes finish in double-figures with Paige Chavis leading the way with 20 points, four rebounds and five assists. Madison Ervin and Jenny Edwards each totaled 16 points with Edwards falling short of a double-double with nine rebounds. Aliyah Farmer finished fourth on the Lions scoring charts with 10 points and seven boards.
"Danasia and Kristina had some really big baskets for us today," Hancock says. "Senior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) did a good job of getting people the ball where they could be successful." Tomlinson finished shy of her first double-double of the season with eight points, a team-best eight assists and four rebounds. Courtney Robinson also posted eight points, while pulling down four boards and dishing out two assists.
Wingate outrebounded Mars Hill 43-33, while also maintaining the 24-15 edge in assists and 4-2 advantage in blocked shots. The Bulldogs' bench outscored the Lions reserves by a commanding 29-4 margin. The 'Dogs also led in fast-break (10-8) and second-chance points (9-7), along with a 44-36 edge in points in the paint. Wingate shot 50 percent from the floor (31-of-62) compared to Mars Hill's 42 percent field goal percentage (29-of-69 shooting).
The Wingate University Bulldog women's basketball team is back in action this Tuesday when the 'Dogs host an exhibition contest versus the Cape Fear Community College Stingrays. Tip-off is slated for an 11 a.m. start from Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. The Mars Hill Lions hit the road next Saturday, Dec. 10 for a SAC showdown against the Catawba College Indians for a 2 p.m. start.
The Cape Fear CC match-up Tuesday morning marks the fifth annual Future Bulldog Day, an event for local fifth-grade students to visit the Wingate campus for a day to enjoy tours, motivational speakers and a college basketball game.
(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.)
