Women's Basketball | 2/23/2016 2:07:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's basketball team (16-8 overall, 13-7 SAC) will host its next-to-last regular season home game against Catawba College (15-11 overall, 12-8 SAC) in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Wednesday. The Wingate University Sports Network will provide a live video stream via its partnership with ESPN3 (live video, live statistics). Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
 
The Bulldogs are currently riding a six-game winning streak; they have won seven of their last eight contests in the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena. Keeping the momentum and finishing the regular season strong is what Wingate will look to accomplish heading into this week.
 
"Catawba is playing really well at the right time of the year," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "They have all the pieces to make a run. We will need to be at our best on both ends of the floor."
 
The match-up against Catawba will provide fans an intense battle between two of the league's top shooters. Wingate freshman Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) sits atop the SAC charts with her field goal conversion rate of 53.0 percent. The Hickory High product averages 10 points per game. For the Catawba Indians, junior guard Bri Johnson (Statesville, N.C.) will take charge as she is the South Atlantic Conference's leading scorer with 432 points this season. Her 16.6 points per game average is second to Tusculum's Shynese Whitener.
 
Also looking to put in work for Wingate's offense heading into the contest will be junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.), who averages 10.3 points per game this season. Reinforcing the Bulldog offensive fortunes is senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) with her average of 10.1 points per game.
 
Catawba College has two of the top 10 scorers in the SAC. Sophomore center Terri Rogers (Burlington, N.C.) and junior forward Jada Huntley (Indian Trail, N.C.) will bring support to Johnson as they average 13.7 points and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Huntley played her high school basketball for Wingate women's basketball alum Ina Thompson at nearby Porter Ridge.
 
Rogers is also a top 10 rebounder in the league, averaging 7.7 boards per game. Huntley will also be provide quickness off the glass as she maintains an average of 5.8 rebounds per game. Wingate will fight hard for ball control with McGee and Witherspoon averaging 5.1 and 5.0 rebounds per game, respectively.
 
"Transition defense and rebounding will be important in determining the outcome Wednesday night," Hancock says. "Bri Johnson is one of the best scorers in the league. It will require a total team effort to stop her."
 
On Jan. 13, Huntley hit a three-point field goal with 63 seconds left to boost Catawba to a 73-69 SAC victory over Wingate in Goodman Gymnasium. Huntley's triple broke a 68-68 tie and gave Catawba a lead they would not relinquish.
 
The Jan. 13 game featured 11 ties and 20 lead changes. Johnson led all scorers with 18 points. Huntley came off the Indian bench to post 16 markers. Rogers had 10 points. She was one of four Indians to pull down a team-high five rebounds.
 
For Wingate, redshirt junior guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) had a season-high 14 points in a reserve role. Neely hit seven-of-nine field goals. Bulldog junior guards Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) and Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) had 12 points and 10 points, respectively. Both Tricoli and Tomlinson hit two three-point field goals each.
 
THIS AND THAT
 
Nine different Wingate players have served the role of leading scorer in one or more games this season. The balanced Bulldog offense leads the SAC in scoring margin (9.3 points per game) and team field goal percentage (45.0 percent).
 
Catawba and Wingate split two contests last season. On Jan. 21, 2015, Wingate built a 20-point lead and survived a furious Catawba rally to post a 62-47 home triumph. The Bulldogs avenged their only SAC loss to claim their 10th consecutive SAC win.
 
Wingate graduate student post players Andrea Bertrand and Chantal Dunbar led the way for the hosts in the January contest. Bertrand had 17 points, while Dunbar recorded her 20th career double-double with 10 points and a game-high (tying) 13 rebounds. Nine Bulldog players participated and nine found the scoring column. Huntley led the visiting Indians with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
On Nov. 19, 2014, Catawba senior guard Emma Ucinski (Atlanta, Ga.) scored 20 points to lead the Indians to a 67-55 home victory over Wingate. Two Catawba players joined Ucinski in double figures as the hosts led wire-to-wire. Johnson and senior guard Zhaquondalee Greer (Greensboro, N.C.) contributed 10 points each. McGee led the visiting Bulldogs with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
 
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.)