Women's Basketball | 1/27/2017 10:11:00 AM

VIDEO: Tusculum preview with head coach Ann Hancock

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs returns home to the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Saturday afternoon for a South Atlantic Conference battle against the Tusculum College Pioneers. Tip-off is slated for a 2 p.m. start with the contest airing live on ESPN3. The 'Dogs currently ride a three-game win streak with SAC victories over Queens, Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
Wingate sits at 14-4 overall and 10-3 in the SAC. Tusculum is 4-13 overall and 3-10 in league play. The Bulldogs are in a three-way tie for second place in the SAC standings with Anderson and Catawba. Undefeated Lincoln Memorial continues to occupy the top spot in the conference.
 
Wingate Players to Watch
 
Wingate sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) has been a huge   factor in the Bulldog's latest stretch of games. The Hickory High School product has tallied 22 and 25 points in the most recent victories over Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne. Witherspoon averages 13.8 markers and 6.9 rebounds per game on the season with a 49.6 shooting percentage. She also ranks fifth in the SAC with 29 total steals.
 
WU junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) has led all Wingate scorers for the majority of the 2016-17 campaign, averaging a double-double with 15.4 points and 10.4 boards per contest. The University of Texas El Paso transfer ranks second overall in the conference with an impressive 53 total blocks. Miscenko also is second in the SAC individual standings with her average rebound total, while charting first in offensive rebounds (79), second in total rebounds (188) and third in total defensive boards (109).
 
Sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) and senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) contribute 8.5 and eight points per game, respectively. Averette continues to hold the second spot in the SAC with her 50 percent field goal clip from three-point range. Senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) has added 6.6 points through 18 games played. Senior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) ranks fourth in the conference with 70 total assists in her final season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold.
 
Tusculum Players to Watch
 
The Tusculum Pioneers are led by sophomore forward Kasey Johnson (Greensboro, N.C.), who averages 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. Johnson has also shot a team-high 44.5 percent from the floor. Senior guard Benedicta Makakala (Stockholm, Sweden) is second on the Tusculum scoring charts with 9.1 markers and 4.6 boards through 16 starts.
 
Senior guard Maelyn Head (Greeneville, Tenn.) and sophomore guard Callie Patterson (McLeansville, N.C.) contribute 8.6 and 8.4 points per game, respectively. Sophomore guard Sydney Wilson (Greensboro, N.C.) has added 6.4 markers per contest, while freshman guard Tara Shields (Maryville, Tenn.) tallies 6.1 points through 16 games.
 
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 232-200 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.
 
 
Tusculum Coaches
 
The Pioneers are mentored by second-year Devan Carter, who took over as the interim head coach during the 2015-16 season. Carter led Tusculum to a 13-12 overall record one season ago with an even 11-11 mark in conference play.
 
Prior to Carter's arrival at Tusculum, he served two seasons at Hargrave Military Academy as an assistant coach. During his tenure at the Chatham, Virginia prep school, he worked to enhance the individual development of guards and post student-athletes. Carter was a three-year starter and four-year letterman as a men's basketball student-athlete for the Elon University Phoenix. Following Elon, he briefly played professionally in Europe.
 
Carter is assisted by two first-year graduate assistant coaches in previous Tusculum women's basketball student-athlete Shynese Whitener and Andrienne Terrell, who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2012. Whitener was the Pioneers' leading scorer as a senior last season, averaging 18.1 points per contest.
 
Wingate's Last Game
 
Danasia Witherspoon led all scorers with a season-high 25 points to lead Wingate to a 68-52 comeback triumph over Lenoir-Rhyne in a SAC road encounter from Hickory. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as eight points in the second quarter of play before overcoming the deficit and ending LRU's 15-game home win streak. Witherspoon went nine-of-12 shooting (75 percent) from the floor.
 
Robinson and Neely added nine points each for the visitors. Marta Miscenko fell short of her 11th double-double with seven points and 11 rebounds. Kristina Rumplasch contributed six markers.
 
The Bulldogs swept every major statistical category, outrebounding Lenoir-Rhyne 38-26 and converting 16 points off 13 LRU turnovers. The Wingate bench slightly outscored the Bears'   reserves 21-14, while also outscoring the hosts 38-28 in the paint. The 'Dogs led 15-12 in total assists and 15-10 in second-chance buckets.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne led by a narrow margin of 33-30 at the halftime intermission; however, Wingate tied the score up at 33-33 early in the third quarter. A hoop by WU graduate student guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) gave the Bulldogs a 35-33 advantage with 7:23 on the clock. The 'Dogs never trailed in the contest from this point forward.
 
Wingate grabbed its first double-digit lead of the game at 49-39 on a basket from sophomore guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.). The 'Dogs led 50-39 entering the final quarter. The Bulldogs led by a double-digit margin for the entire fourth frame, allowing the visitors to take their largest lead of the contest at 68-49 with 35 seconds remaining. Wingate held on for the 16-point victory.
 
The 'Dogs shot 48 percent from the floor as a team (24-of-50), compared to LRU's 38.6 shooting percentage (22-of-57). Wingate was 19-of-23 from the charity stripe (82.6 percent), while posting eight steals and four blocks in the contest.
 
Tusculum's Last Game
 
The Pioneers snapped a three-game SAC losing streak with an 81-71 double overtime victory over the Brevard College Tornados on their home court. It was Tusculum's first multi-overtime triumph since a 97-94 triple overtime win over Newberry on Feb. 9, 2000. Callie Patterson hit a clutch three-pointer as time expired in the first overtime to send the game to the double overtime period. The Pioneers would quickly pull away, scoring the first seven points in the frame.
 
Kasey Johnson led the hosts with a monster double-double performance, contributing 25 points and 13 rebounds. Callie Patterson added 17 markers and eight boards off the bench. Benedicta Makakala was second in scoring among the Tusculum starting five with 12 points in the contest.
 
Tusculum swept every major statistical category, winning the rebound battle 60-38 and leading 23-14 in total assists. The Pioneers converted 13 point off 14 Brevard turnovers and outscored the Tornados 36-26 in the paint. Tusculum's bench heavily outscored the Brevard reserves 21-0. The hosts shot 37.8 percent from the floor (31-of-82), compared to the Tornado's 35.4 percent shooting percentage (23-of-65).
 
Previous Match-up
 
The Wingate Bulldogs opened up the 2016-17 conference schedule with a dominant 73-48 victory over Tusculum from Pioneer Arena on Nov. 19, 2016. Marta Miscenko led the visitors with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while adding two steals and a (then) career-best five blocks to her statistical ledger.
 
Shelby Tricoli and Danasia Witherspoon added 11 points and five rebounds each to finish second on the Bulldog scoring charts. Caroline Averette started her first career intercollegiate game and scored 10 points, while adding four rebounds and an assist. Alex Tomlinson added five points, five rebounds and nine assists.
 
Wingate dominated Tusculum on the boards 47-19 and led 19-10 in assists as well. The Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent from the field, compared to the Pioneer's 33.3 percent. Tusculum was hot from beyond the arc, finishing nine-of-16 from three-point range (56.3 percent), while Wingate was five-of-12 (41.7 percent) in three-pointers.
 
The 'Dogs outscored Tusculum 38-12 in the paint. Wingate also maintained a 26-3 advantage in second-chance points and the Bulldog reserves outscored Tusculum's bench 15-8.
 
It was a close affair in the opening minutes of the third quarter as Tusculum cut the lead down to 29-27 on a Benedicta Makakala three-point jumper at the 7:24 mark. The Bulldogs used a 12-4 run to extend their lead out to 10 points at 41-31 with 3:53 remaining in the quarter. Wingate would maintain the double-digit advantage for the remainder of the third stanza and led 52-35 at its conclusion.
 
Tusculum began the fourth quarter with a mini 5-0 run to cut the 17-point deficit down to 12 at 52-40 with nine minutes to go. Wingate then exploded for a huge 16-0 run to give the Bulldogs their largest advantage of the contest at 67-40 with 3:40 left in the final quarter. Wingate would maintain its commanding lead in the 20-point range for the remainder of the quarter and claim the victory in its conference-opening contest.
 
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.)