Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) tallied a season-high 16 points to help push the Bulldogs' hot streak to six games in a 59-51 triumph over the Catawba College Indians in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action from Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Wednesday evening.
 
Wingate improves to 11-3 overall and 7-2 in the SAC. Catawba is now 10-4 overall with an identical record in conference action. The Bulldogs are back in action this Saturday when they host a SAC encounter against the Anderson University Trojans. Tip-off is slated for a 2 p.m. start. The Indians travel to Harrogate, Tenn. to face Lincoln Memorial in a huge conference road match-up on the same day and time.
 
"Catawba is an outstanding team," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says.  "They have two of the best players in the league. I thought our defensive effort made the difference. For us to hold senior guard Bri Johnson (Statesville, N.C.) below her average is major. Holding junior forward Terri Rogers (Burlington, N.C.) below her rebounding average is also big." 
 
Two other Bulldogs posted double figures with senior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) contributing 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) added her ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 11 boards in the contest. Miscenko also shot a season-high 71.4 percent from the floor (five-of-seven accuracy).
 
"We had some people step up offensively and make some nice plays," Hancock says. "Courtney Robinson and Alex Tomlinson knocked down some huge shots. Hopefully, we can build some momentum going into Saturday's game with Anderson."
 
The 'Dogs swept nearly every major statistical category, outrebounding Catawba 43-32 and maintaining the 14-13 edge in assists. The Wingate bench dominated the Indian reserves 21-6 with the hosts slightly outscoring the visitors 28-26 in the paint. Wingate had an advantage of 12-3 in second-chance buckets.
 
Catawba junior center Terri Rogers (Burlington, N.C.) led all scorers with 23 points along with eight rebounds. Rogers also shot 66.7 percent from the field (10-of-15 accuracy). Senior guard Bri Johnson (Statesville, N.C.) finished second on the Indian scoring charts with 13 markers.
 
It was tightly-contested battle in the opening quarter with Catawba jumping out to the early 13-9 advantage with 1:30 remaining on the clock. A jumper from Tomlinson trimmed the deficit down to 15-11 with 47 seconds left. Tomlinson soon hit a clutch three-point basket with one second in the frame to make it a 15-14 game at the break between quarters.
 
Wingate began the second stanza with a 13-3 run to gain a 27-18 advantage on a lay-up from Miscenko at the 6:49 mark. Another Miscenko two-point jumper gave the Bulldogs their largest first-half lead at nine points (29-20) with 5:45 on the clock. The 'Dogs would grab a 32-26 lead with 2:11 in the quarter, but neither team scored for the remainder of the frame as Wingate maintained the six-point advantage at the halftime intermission.
 
A WU basket from graduate student guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) gave the hosts their first double-digit lead of the contest at 38-28 with 7:55 left in the third quarter. Wingate would not lead by more than 10 points in the stanza, maintaining the 47-37 mark with 1:35 remaining. Catawba junior guard Serena Brown (Ft. Washington, Md.) hit a two-point bucket with one second on the clock to make it a 47-41 game entering the final quarter.
 
The Bulldogs took an 11-point lead (52-41) on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) at the 6:51 mark. A free throw from senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) gave the 'Dogs a commanding 12-point advantage with 6:51 to go in the frame. The Tricoli charity toss gave Wingate its largest lead of the evening. Catawba would not get any closer than eight points for the remainder of the quarter as Wingate held on for the victory.
 
Wingate complied a 39.3 shooting percentage in the contest (24-of-61) while Catawba shot 37.7 from the floor (20-of-53). The Bulldogs connected on 45.5 percent from three-point range (five-of-11), while the WU defense held the Indians to only 25 percent connectivity from beyond the arc (four-of-16).
 
(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.)