Wingate, N.C.--- Wingate junior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) and redshirt sophomore attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) each totaled five goals to lead the Bulldogs to a 16-10 South Atlantic Conference triumph over Catawba College in women's lacrosse action on Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Saturday afternoon. Wingate is 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the SAC. Catawba is 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the SAC.

The reigning SAC Offensive Player of the Week, Dempsey becomes the Wingate single-season record holder for goals scored by virture of her performance Saturday. She leads the team and the conference with 43 tallies in her junior campaign.

"We did a great job coming out strong in the first half and really executing our game plan," Wingate head women's lacrosse coach Caline McHenry Olmsted says. "Paulena, Shannon and senior midfielder Emily Nosek (Bel Air, Md.) did a great job finishing their shots. Freshman goalkeeper Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) came up with some big saves to lead our defense."
 
The 'Dogs began the contest with a run of seven unanswered goals and never looked back to gain an early 7-0 advantage with 14:54 left in the first half of play. Three of those scores were netted by Nosek, who finished second on the WU team total list with four goals on the afternoon.

The Indians ended the Wingate consecutive goal streak on back-to-back tallies to cut the lead down 7-2 with 12:59 remaining in the first half. The second goal was scored by junior attack Kirstyn Kruse (Sagamore Beach, Ma.), who finished with four goals to lead Catawba.

Catawba would trim the margin down to four tallies to make it a 9-5 contest with 7:08 to go in the first half of play, but the Bulldogs would answer with consecutive scores from Dempsey to take an 11-5 lead with 21 seconds left in the half. WU would maintain the 11-5 advantage going into the halftime intermission.

Wingate would take a 12-5 lead with 27:34 to go in the second half, but the Indians netted three unanswered tallies to cut the margin down to a 12-8 score at the 15:15 mark in the second half. The 'Dogs answered, posting back-to-back insurance scores to gain a 14-8 advantage with 13:07 to play.

WU freshman midfielder Emily Ketron (Mason, Ohio) had a big day with eight draw control wins to lead the Bulldogs. O'Neal finished second on team total list with five draw controls on the afternoon. Pierre posted nine saves and picked up the win. She went the distance Saturday. Catawba senior goalie Bethany Davis (Salisbury, Md.) recorded six saves and took the loss. Davis allowed 14 goals in her 54-plus minutes of work Saturday.

The Wingate University women's lacrosse team will be back in action Saturday, April 9, when they hit the road to Newberry, S.C. for a SAC contest against the Newberry College Wolves. First draw control is slated for 2 p.m. The Catawba College Indians will be back in action at home Monday, facing the University of Mount Olive Trojans for a 4 p.m. non-conference battle.

(Wingate University sports information/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A freshman from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate. The former Millbrook High School baseball player is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)