Women's Basketball | 2/12/2016 12:44:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (13-8 overall, 10-7 SAC) will play host to Brevard College (1-20 overall, 0-17 SAC) on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. Wingate players and fans will be sporting pink game apparel in support of Play 4Kay during the Bulldogs' alumni day celebration.
 
The Bulldogs head into this contest with confidence as they look to build upon a three-game winning streak. Senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) is the leading scorer for Wingate, as she currently averages 10.3 points per game. Reinforcing her offensive output will be freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.), who ranks fourth in the SAC with a conversion rate of 52.4 percent on her field goal shots. She averages 10.2 points per game.
 
Brevard junior guard Madison Lenox (Raleigh, N.C.) takes the helm of Brevard's offense, as she is ranked third in the SAC with her 15.7 points per game. Following her lead is senior forward Shelby Wolfe (Pittsboro, N.C.) with an average of 9.9 points per game. Brevard will look to both Lenox and Wolfe for guidance on the offensive end.
 
On Dec. 19, Witherspoon posted her first intercollegiate double-double with career-highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Bulldogs to a 71-53 SAC triumph over Brevard. Witherspoon hit 13-of-20 field goals and three-of-three free throws in Wingate's road victory.
 
McGee added 11 points for the visitors, as Wingate hit 52.5 percent of its field goals Saturday (32-of-61). For Brevard, senior guard Nicole Graham (Charlotte, N.C.) had a career-high (tying) 13 points. Graham scored three of Brevard's nine three-point field goals as she was the only BC player to manage double-figure points. The Tornados hit a season-low 25.4 percent from the floor (18-of-71) against the Bulldogs.
 
Going into the February contest, the Tornados have the statistical upper-hand coming off the glass. Wolfe, Lenox and sophomore forward Whitney DeMoss (Candler, N.C.) all maintain rebounding averages higher than Wingate's top rebounder in Witherspoon (5.5 boards per game). DeMoss currently ranks fifth in the SAC with her average of 8.1 rebounds per game.
 
Wolfe and Lenox will support their teammate while maintaining their averages of 6.4 and 6.0 rebounds per game, respectively. Lenox and Witherspoon also represent the quickest hands for their respective team's defense. They are currently ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the SAC in steals. Lenox totals 40 steals on the season, with Witherspoon right on her tail accumulating 38 takeaways of her own.
 
THIS AND THAT

Wingate swept the season series over Brevard last year. On Jan. 24, point guard Brittany Hill ('15) established season-highs in points and rebounds and hit a huge second half three-point field goal to boost the Bulldogs to a 71-60 at Brevard. The victory gave Wingate its ninth straight triumph overall and its 11th consecutive league conquest.
 
Hill had 10 points, eight rebounds, four steals, two assists and no turnovers in a team-best 38 minutes of action Saturday. Wingate graduate student forward Andrea Bertrand ('16) led the visiting Bulldogs with 19 points. Tricoli netted 13 points, while graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar ('14, '16) had 11 points and eight boards.
 
For Brevard, Williams had 16 points. Lenox and junior forward Lynsey Crisp (Robbinsville, N.C.) tallied 12 points each for the home-standing Tornados. Lenox hit a game-high four three-point field goals in eight tries.
 
On Feb. 28, Wingate celebrated Senior Day with an 89-38 triumph over Brevard. The victory allowed the Bulldogs to run the 2014-15 SAC table at home as Wingate posted an 11-0 record in league games on their Cuddy Arena hardwood.
 
Eleven WU players participated in the Senior Day win and 11 players scored. Tricoli led the way with 16 points. Dunbar recorded her 25th career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Wingate forward Brooklyn Boston ('15) tallied a career-high 12 points in only 18 minutes. McGee rounded out Wingate's double-figure scorers with 11 points.
 
For Brevard, Lenox had 13 points. Lenox shared team-high honors with five rebounds. Graham added six points on the strength of two three-point field goals. The Tornados hit only 25.5 percent of their field goals in the February contest (14-of-55). Wingate head coach Ann Hancock currently holds a 6-1 record against the Tornados throughout her time as the Bulldogs' head coach.
 
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 will celebrate Wingate women's basketball Alumni Day on 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.
 
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.
 
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 information to this article. Pruett is senior at Temple University, majoring in Sport and Recreation Management.)