Wingate, N.C.----Anderson University senior guard Heather Jankowy (Walhalla, S.C.) had 17 points and nine assists as the Trojans edged Wingate University 62-61 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Saturday afternoon. Jankowy made six-of-10 field goals and three-of-six tries from downtown.
 
The January contest was a rematch of the 2016 SAC tournament championship game, which Wingate won. Anderson improves to 11-3 overall and 8-2 in the SAC. The Trojans were receiving votes in this week's WBCA/NCAA Division II top 25 poll. Wingate is 11-4 overall and 7-3 in the SAC. The Bulldogs visit Queens University of Charlotte Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest. Anderson ventures up the mountain to battle Carson-Newman University Wednesday at 6 p.m.
 
AU Trojan freshman Alexy Mollenhauer (Lindale, Texas) had 13 points off the Anderson bench. For Wingate, junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) and sophomore guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) had 14 points each. Miscenko posted her ninth double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds. Witherspoon added eight boards as the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 43-32.
 
The Bulldogs and the Trojans could muster only seven total points in the last six minutes. Wingate graduate student guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) hit the hosts' last field goal, tying the score for the seventh (and final) time at 58-58. Senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) hit one-of-two free throws to give the 'Dogs their final lead at 59-58 four minutes later.
 
Mollenhauer hit a fast-break jumper (on a dish from Jankowy) with 2:16 remaining, making the score 60-59 Trojans and giving the visitors the lead for good. AU freshman guard Madison Baggett (Huntsville, Ala.) nailed a jumper in the paint at the 1:24 plateau to give the defending SAC regular season champions a three-point edge at 62-59.
 
Wingate's Miscenko canned two free throws with 50 seconds remaining, cutting the Bulldog deficit to 62-61. Anderson missed a jumper on the other end, giving Wingate one last chance. Neely missed a floater in the paint and Baggett snared the rebound. Anderson called time-out to move the ball to half-court. Bulldog sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) came up with a steal at the buzzer, but the hosts did not have time to get a potential game-winning shot.
 
A jumper by AU sophomore forward Sara Goble (Sherrills Ford, N.C.) gave the visitors a 48-41 advantage with 3:51 to go in the third quarter. The seven-point margin was Anderson's largest of the afternoon. Wingate concluded the stanza on a 13-4 run to take a 54-52 lead entering the final frame. Five WU different players contributed points to the spurt, led by sophomore guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) and her four markers.
 
Averette's three-point field goal gave the Bulldogs an 18-8 lead with 3:55 to play in the first quarter. The 10-point bulge was Wingate's biggest of the contest. Anderson rallied, thanks in large part to six first half three-point field goals to lead 34-29 at the halftime intermission. Jankowy led all first half scorers with 13 points. Miscenko had 10 points and eight rebounds for Wingate in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Anderson won three of the five major specialty statistics categories. The AU Trojans held a slight 30-26 edge in points in the paint. The Trojan bench outscored the Bulldog substitutes 27-19. Anderson had 14 fast-break points, compared to two for Wingate. The Bulldogs had 20 offensive rebounds, which they converted into 15 second-chance points (the Trojans had only nine second-chance markers). Both teams scored 17 points each from turnovers.
 
The Trojans shot 49.1 percent from the floor (26-of-53), while the Bulldogs hit 36.1 percent of their field goal attempts (22-of-61). Wingate made 14-of-26 free throws (53.8 percent). Anderson shot 10 charity tosses, making four (40 percent). The Trojans hit six-of-12 three-point field goals in the first half, then missed their only two second-half tries to finish at 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. On the other end, the Bulldogs made three-of-seven shots from behind the three-point line (42.9 percent).