Women's Basketball | 1/10/2017 11:20:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs return home to Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Wednesday evening for a South Atlantic Conference rivalry showdown versus the Catawba College Indians for a 6 p.m. tip-off. The 'Dogs have won five consecutive contests entering the Catawba match-up.

Wingate and Catawba enter the crucial conference game with identical overall records of 10-3. The Bulldogs are 6-2 in the SAC and hold the third overall spot in the conference standings. The Indians are tied for second place in the SAC with Anderson with their 7-1 mark in conference action.
 
Wingate Players to Watch
 
Wingate junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) continues her tremendous impact on the court in the 2016-17 campaign, averaging a double-double with 16.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Miscenko ranks second in the SAC with her average rebound total and first overall in the conference with an impressive 41 blocked shots on the season.
 
Sophomore guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) is second on the Bulldog scoring charts with 13.5 points per contest, along with 7.7 rebounds through 13 games. The Hickory High School graduate ranks fifth in the SAC with 23 total steals and has posted a 52.4 field goal percentage in her second-year campaign.
 
WU sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) also has double figures with 10.2 points per contest and ranks third in the SAC individual standings with a 53.3 shooting percentage from three-point range. Senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) and senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) have complied 7.9 and 6.7 points per game, respectively.
 
Catawba Players to Watch
 
Two Catawba Indians hold top three spots in the SAC scoring rankings with Catawba senior guard Bri Johnson (Statesville, N.C.) leading the charge with 20.4 points per game, ranking second in the conference. Johnson also has posted 22 total steals and five blocks on the season.
 
Junior center Terri Rogers (Burlington, N.C.) ranks third in the SAC nearly averaging a double-double with 18.9 points and 9.5 boards per contest. Rogers leads the Indians with a 53.5 shooting percentage from the floor. Junior guard Serena Brown (Ft. Washington, Md.) has posted a balanced statistical ledger with 10.8 points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.
 
Catawba junior guard Marshauna Butler (Bowie, Md.) and sophomore guard Elizabeth Webb (Statesville, N.C.) contribute 9.4 and seven points per contest, respectively. Butler ranks second on the Indians' team list with 6.8 rebounds per game and leads the team with 23 steals through 13 contests.
 
Wingate Coaches
 
The Bulldogs are led by fifth-year head coach Ann Hancock ('92), who returned to the Wingate campus for the 2012-13 season to coach her alma mater. Hancock has compiled a 228-199 career record (UNC Wilmington and Wingate), including mentoring her WU team to a 24-6 overall record in 2013-14 and 21-9 mark a season ago during the 2015-16 campaign. Wingate won the SAC Tournament championship in both seasons. 
 
Prior to returning to her alma mater, Hancock spent two seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at East Carolina University. Before her tenure with the Pirates, Hancock was head women's basketball coach at UNC Wilmington for 10 seasons and was an assistant coach for eight seasons at UNC Chapel Hill under legendary head coach Sylvia Hatchell. She helped the Tar Heels win the 1994 NCAA Division I National Championship. 
 
Hancock is assisted by new full-time assistant women's basketball coach Celeste Stewart, who spent her previous two seasons as a graduate assistant on the WU coaching staff. Stewart was a basketball student-athlete at East Carolina University. As a point guard for the ECU Pirates, Stewart was named to the first team All-C-USA as a senior. She will use her impressive basketball resume to help lead the Bulldogs to another successful season in 2016-17 and beyond. 
 
Katelyn Grisillo joined the Bulldog coach staff in the summer of 2016 after spending the previous two seasons as the point guard for the University of South Carolina Aiken Pacers. She started in 28 games her senior season. Prior to her arrival at USC Aiken, Grisillo was a student-athlete for the Division I Presbyterian College Blue Hose. Grisillo works with assistant coach Celeste Stewart and the post players.
 
Catawba Coaches
 
The Catawba College Indians are led by 13th-year head coach Angie Morton, who took over the program in 2003. The Indians have compiled a 195-148 overall record under her leadership. Morton was named the SAC Coach of the Year following the 2011-12 campaign.
 
Morton is a 1984 Catawba graduate who returned to her alma mater after serving as the head coach at Pfeiffer University for seven seasons. She guided the Falcons to a 108-90 record in her career. Prior to her stint at Pfeiffer, Morton was the women's basketball head coach at West Stanly High School in Oakboro. She was a three-sport student-athlete at Catawba, where she earned 10 letters in basketball, softball and field hockey.
 
Morton is supported by associate head coach Terrence Baxter, who joined the Catawba coaching staff in 2013. Baxter serves as the primary assistant to Morton and was promoted from assistant to associate head coach prior to the 2015-16 season.
 
Baxter is a 2001 graduate of Pfeiffer University, where he was a men's basketball student-athlete. He commenced his coaching career as an assistant coach for his alma mater in 2006. Baxter left Pfeiffer to join the women's basketball coaching staff at Brevard College, where he was the Tornados' top assistant for three seasons. He then spent two years as the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Queens University of Charlotte before arriving at Catawba.
 
The Catawba women's basketball coaching staff also includes assistant coach Jazmin Charles, who is 2015 graduate and previous women's basketball student-athlete at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
 
Wingate's Last Game
 
The Wingate Bulldogs overcame a 15-point, third quarter deficit to complete an impressive 80-75 comeback road triumph in overtime over the Carson-Newman University Eagles from the Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tenn. on Saturday, Jan. 7.
 
Danasia Witherspoon led the 'Dogs with her fourth double-double of the season, posting 20 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Witherspoon hit eight-of-14 field goals in one of her best all-around performances of her sophomore campaign.
 
Four other Bulldogs posted double figures, with senior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) collecting a season-high 11 points on five-of-11 shooting with four rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) added 14 points with five boards and five assists.
 
Marta Miscenko nearly compiled her eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and eight boards. Kristina Rumplasch tallied a season-high 14 markers, while shooting 54 percent from the floor (six-of-11).
 
Wingate dominated on the boards, outrebounding Carson-Newman 52-31 in the contest, while maintaining the 18-10 edge in second-chance points. The Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 50-32 in the paint with the WU bench holding the slight 31-28 advantage over the C-N substitutes.
 
The 'Dogs shot 42 percent from the floor (31-of-73 shooting), compared to C-N's 44 percent from the field (28-of-64). Wingate also shot 43 percent from three-point range (three-of-seven), while the Eagles were seven-of-17 from beyond the arc (41 percent).
 
Carson-Newman led by a double-digit margin for the majority of the third quarter, leading 44-29 with seven minutes left in the stanza (its largest lead of the afternoon). Wingate would not get any closer than seven points for the remainder of the frame and trailed 57-48 heading into the final quarter of regulation.
 
With the Eagles holding a nine-point advantage early in the fourth, the Wingate Bulldogs used an 8-1 mini-run to trim the margin down to a one-point contest on a free throw from Witherspoon to make it a 60-59 at the 6:41 mark. A three-pointer from Tomlinson tied the score up for the first time in regulation at 64-64 with 6:02 on the clock.
 
The Bulldogs took their first lead at 66-64 with 3:06 to go, but three more lead changes and a tie would give C-N the late 71-69 advantage. Tomlinson hit another clutch jumper (a two-pointer) to tie the contest up at 71-71 with 19 seconds left on the clock to send the game to the overtime period.
 
Overtime would begin with the game-winning lay-up from WU sophomore guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) to give the visiting Bulldogs a 73-71 advantage with 4:55 on the clock. Wingate never let go of the lead for the remainder of the period.
 
Catawba's Last Game
 
Catawba claimed a dominant 90-64 SAC home victory versus the Brevard College Tornados on Sunday, Jan. 8 from the Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury. Bri Johnson and Terri Rogers combined for 45 points and hit on 18-of-25 shots. Johnson posted 23 points, missing only one shot from the floor. She was a perfect six-of-six from beyond the arc. Rogers added 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting.
 
Marshauna Butler and Elizabeth Webb contributed nine and eight points, respectively. Catawba outrebounded Brevard 43-30, while maintaining the 23-13 edge in the assist category. The Indians outscored the Tornados 36-30 in the paint and the Catawba bench outscored the BC reserves 25-10.
 
Catawba converted 19 points off 13 Brevard turnovers, maintained the 13-2 advantage in second-chance buckets and the 18-6 edge in fast-break points. Both squads were even at eight steals each.
 
Last Season's Match-up
 
The Bulldogs claimed the three-game season series (2-1) in the 2015-16 campaign. Catawba took the first game on Jan. 13, 2016 by a score of 73-69 on its home court. In the second meeting, Wingate returned home to the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena on Feb. 24, 2016 with a convincing 74-53 triumph. Both squads reunited in the first round of the SAC Tournament on Mar. 2, when the 'Dogs earned a 68-58 win to advance into the semi-final round.
 
In the second match-up, Danasia Witherspoon flirted with a triple-double as she tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the victory. Shelby Tricoli posted 12 markers, converting three-of-four shots from beyond the arc. WU graduate student guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) and Miscenko added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Wingate shot 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the floor with the Bulldog defense holding the Indians to only 29.7 percent (19-of-64) from the field. Wingate outrebounded Catawba 48-31 and outscored the Indians 40-22 in the paint. The Bulldog bench outscored the Indian substitutes 30-22. The hosts also converted 27 points off 22 visiting turnovers.
 
In the post-season meeting, Tricoli posted 18 points to lead the charge while Robinson contributed nine points in the contest. Wingate outrebounded Catawba 41-29, as Neely and Witherspoon led the way with six boards each.
 
Wingate's bench outscored Catawba's substitutes 34-8. Rumplasch contributed eight points off the Bulldog bench, while Averette and Miscenko had four points each. The Bulldogs shot 43.6 percent from the floor compared to Catawba's 41 percent. The 'Dogs converted 13 points off 14 Indian turnovers and led 14-6 in second-chance baskets.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 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 10 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 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
 
(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate. He is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)