Women's Basketball | 2/19/2016 7:56:00 PM

Jefferson City, Tenn.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (15-8 overall, 12-7 SAC) currently sits tied for second place in the South Atlantic Conference as they travel to Carson-Newman University (16-9 overall, 10-9 SAC) to continue SAC action Saturday (live statistics; live video). Tip-off for the Eagles' Senior Day contest in the Holt Field House is slated for 2 p.m.
 
"Carson-Newman is always a tough place to play," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "With so much riding on the last few games of the season for everyone, it will be even more challenging."
 
The Bulldogs have now won five games straight, after Wednesday's 74-66 win at Coker College. Bulldog forward/center Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) had 12 points and eight rebounds, while redshirt junior guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) contributed 11 markers. Wingate converted 28-of-37 free throws Wednesday night (75.7 percent), establishing a season-high for made free throws in a game.
 
Leading the offensive charge for the Wingate Bulldogs are their two top scorers in McGee and freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.). Both women currently average 10.3 points per game. WU junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) is not far behind with her 10.1 points per game.
 
Witherspoon is ranked second in the conference for converting 53.3 percent of her field goal shots this season. Junior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) is also ranked in the SAC's top 10 for maintaining her 50.6 percent conversion rate. As a team, Wingate leads the SAC with its 44.5 percent field goal accuracy this season (623-of-1400).
 
For Carson-Newman, senior guard Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) represents the head of the Eagles' offense as she ranks in the SAC top 10 with her season average of 14.1 points per game. Following her closely with an average of 13.0 points per game is junior guard Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.). In addition, Brooks is also the league's leading three-point shooter, converting 42.8 percent of her shots from behind the arch.
 
The fight for ball control off the boards will be one to keep an eye on in the WU/C-N match-up. Bulldogs Witherspoon and McGee both average 5.3 rebounds per game, as the Eagles will look to give Wingate a run for its money with senior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) and her 5.2 rebounds per game this season. Reinforcing McLaughlin's board crashing will be teammates Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) and Jecca Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.), who both maintain an average of 4.8 rebounds per game.
 
"Carson-Newman has some of the best shooters in the league." Hancock says. "We will need to contest all of their shots without fouling. Rebounding will also be a big part of who comes out on top. I know their seniors want to finish strong, so we will need to match their intensity and effort."
 
THIS AND THAT
 
Wingate is tied for Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill and Newberry for second place in the SAC; all four teams have a 12-7 league slate. Only two games separate the second-place quartet from Carson-Newman and Tusculum, who are tied for seventh at 10-9 in the SAC. Nationally-ranked Anderson has clinched the SAC regular season thanks to a 16-3 league slate.
 
The Bulldogs won both games with the Eagles 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.
 
McLaughlin 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. Wingate's Hancock is 5-2 overall against Carson-Newman in her three-plus-year tenure as Wingate's 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.

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.)