Women's Basketball | 3/1/2016 7:25:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The number three seed Wingate University women's basketball team (18-8 overall, 15-7 SAC) opens South Atlantic Conference tournament play Wednesday, hosting Catawba College (15-13 overall, 12-10 SAC) in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court. 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.
 
"Tournament time is why we play all year," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "Catawba has played really well down the stretch and really seems to be coming together. They can do so many things well." 
 
Wingate has won a current league-best eight games in a row entering the SAC post-season tournament. During this span, the Bulldogs are averaging 73.8 points per game. On defense, Wingate surrenders 58.5 points per game during the same time frame. On the glass, Wingate is rebounding at a 41.8 boards per game clip, while holding opponents to 33.0 rebounds per game during the eight-contest stretch.
 
Wingate senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) is averaging team-best totals of 12.8 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game during the Bulldogs' last eight contests. On the season, McGee is one of three Wingate student-athletes who are averaging 10.3 points per game. The others are freshman guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) and junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.).
 
Wingate sophomore center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) is averaging 8.3 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game during the Bulldogs' eight-game winning streak. Her season averages are 4.3 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. Miscenko is one of nine Bulldogs who have been Wingate's leading scorer at least one game this season.
 
Catawba junior guard Bri Johnson (Statesville, N.C.) and sophomore center Terri Rogers (Burlington, N.C.) average 16.2 points per game and 13.9 points per game, respectively. Johnson is number two on the SAC scoring charts, while Rogers is number eight. On the SAC rebounding list, Rogers is number seven with her team-best 7.5 rebounds per game. The Indians enter the SAC tourney on a two-game losing streak.
 
Wingate defeated Catawba 74-53 last Wednesday. On Saturday, Lincoln Memorial outlasted Catawba 62-58 despite Rogers' 20 points. Wingate's most recent decision was a 73-62 victory over (then) number 21 Anderson. McGee and Witherspoon combined for 30 points and 11 rebounds in the Saturday home victory.
 
"Catawba games are always fun because of the rivalry that exists between the two schools," Hancock says. "Our defense will need to outstanding to guard their strengths. We will also need a tremendous effort on the glass. Both teams will be ready I'm certain. We will need to match their intensity."

WINGATE VS. CATAWBA THIS SEASON
The two teams split the regular season series with each team winning on its home floor. On Feb. 24, Witherspoon led five players in double figures with her game-high 14 points as the Bulldogs defeated Catawba 74-53. Witherspoon flirted with a triple-double, as she recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and six steals.

Witherspoon converted six-of-seven field goal attempts for her 14 points. Tricoli posted 12 markers, converting three-of-four shots outside the three-point arc. The Bulldogs hit seven-of-12 triples Wednesday (58.3 percent).
Redshirt junior guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) had 11 points and five assists, while McGee and Miscenko added 10 points each. McGee hit two-of-three field goals from downtown. Rogers led the visiting Indians with 12 points.
On Jan. 13, Catawba junior forward Jada Huntley (Indian Trail, N.C.) hit a three-point field goal with 63 seconds left as the host Catawba Indians earned a hard-fought 73-69 victory over Wingate. Huntley's triple broke a 68-68 tie and gave Catawba a lead they would not relinquish.
 
The 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, Neely scored a season-high 14 points in the Salisbury contest. Neely hit seven-of-nine field goals. Tricoli and junior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) had 12 points and 10 points, respectively. Both Tricoli and Tomlinson hit two three-point field goals each.
 
SAC AND NCAA HISTORY
 
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, visitwww.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.)