Women's Basketball | 1/31/2017 11:00:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs hope to build on their four-game win streak when they host the Newberry College Wolves in a South Atlantic Conference women's basketball rivalry encounter from Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Wednesday evening. Tip-off is slated for a 6 p.m. start with the contest airing live on ESPN3.
 
Wingate currently sits at 15-4 overall and 11-3 in the SAC. Newberry is 11-7 overall and 7-7 in conference play. The Bulldogs are in a two-way tie for second place in the SAC standings with the Anderson Trojans. Undefeated Lincoln Memorial continues to hold the first-place spot in the conference. Wingate fell to (then) 23rd-ranked Newberry in the previous meeting by a final score of 72-63 on Nov. 30, 2016.
 
"Newberry is always a tough match-up for us," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "They have size and shooters who really seem to know how to play the game. Transition points and second chances will be important as well as defending the three-point line."
 
Wingate Players to Watch
 
The Bulldogs are led by the dynamic duo of junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) and sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) who have averaged double figures for the majority of the 2016-17 campaign. Miscenko averages a double-double with 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest, while Witherspoon has posted 13.8 markers and 7.1 boards through 18 starts.
 
Miscenko ranks near the top of the SAC individual standings in multiple categories including second in rebounds per game, second in total blocks (54), first in total offensive rebounds (81), second in total rebounds (193) and fourth in defensive rebounds. The University of Texas El Paso transfer has posted 11 total double-double performances on the season. Witherspoon is fourth in the SAC in total offensive rebounds (61), sixth in steals (31) and fifth in field goal percentage (52.1).
 
Sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) and senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) average 8.5 and 7.9 points per game, respectively. Averette sits at second overall in the SAC individual standings with her 52.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Tricoli has 957 career points entering this week's action. Senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) contributes 6.9 markers per contest. Senior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) leads the Bulldogs with 75 total assists.
 
Newberry Players to Watch
 
Three Newberry Wolves average double-digit points on the season with sophomore center Meg Essex (Glamorgan Vale, Queensland, Australia) leading the charge with 15.3 points and six rebounds per contest. Essex is first in the conference with 55 total blocked shots during the 2016-17 campaign. Sophomore guard Shelby Britten (Shepparton, Victoria, Australia) is second on the Newberry scoring charts with 14 points per game, while junior guard Nicola Handreck (Heywood, Victoria, Australia) has tallied 11.2 markers through 18 games.
 
"Handreck seems to be a big key for them," Hancock says. "We will try to keep her from building any momentum for Newberry." Junior guard Samara Hill (Frankston, Victoria, Australia) and senior guard/forward Jaya Schultz (Santa Clarita, Calif.) contribute 9.8 and 7.6 points per contest, respectively.
 
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 233-200 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 ('16, MASM), 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.
 
Newberry Coaches
 
The Newberry College Wolves women's basketball program is led by ninth-year head coach Sean Page, who has compiled a 150-89 career record at Newberry and a 183-116 mark in his overall head coaching career. Page arrived on the Newberry campus after spending two seasons as the head mentor at NAIA Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky.
 
During his two-year tenure at the helm of the program, Coach Page led the Brescia Bearcats to a 38-27 record after the team had won only 11 total games in the previous two seasons. He was named the NAIA Division I Women's Independent Coach of the Year after leading the Bearcats to a 20-14 record and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament during his initial season.
 
Prior to Brescia University, Page spent five years as an assistant coach at the Division I level. He spent his first year coaching the Boise State University Broncos, followed by four years at Troy University. He was also a head coach in the Australian Basketball Association from 1994 to 2001 prior to coaching in the United States.
 
Page is supported by Newberry assistant women's basketball coach Joanna Tincher, who returned to coaching the Wolves in the summer of 2016 after serving as an assistant coach at Division I Wofford College for the 2015-16 campaign. Tincher was previously an assistant coach at Newberry for three seasons from 2013-15 before her brief departure.
 
Coach Tincher arrived in Newberry, S.C. after serving as the head coach for the Converse College Valkyries in Spartanburg, S.C. from 2008 to 2012. She commenced her coaching career at the University of Alabama-Huntsville during the 2004 season, serving as an assistant coach for three seasons with the Chargers.
 
Tincher is a previous women's basketball student-athlete for the Francis Marion University Patriots, where she was a four-year letter winner at the forward/center positions. She received the team's Most Valuable Player Award her senior season, averaging 10 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists during her final FMU campaign.
 
Wingate's Last Game
 
The Wingate Bulldogs used a strong 20-2 third quarter run to roll to a dominant 77-45 victory over the Tusculum College Pioneers from Cuddy Arena this past Saturday. Marta Miscenko led three players in double figures with 16 points. Danasia Witherspoon posted 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Kristina Rumplasch added 13 points coming off the bench.
 
The Bulldogs' scoring flurry in the third stanza gave the hosts a commanding 52-26 advantage with 3:43 left in the frame. Wingate outscored Tusculum 28-8 in the stanza and the Pioneers would get no closer than 27 points in the final quarter of play.
 
Wingate swept Tusculum in the specialty statistics categories, outscoring the Pioneers 50-10 in the paint. The Bulldogs dominated on the boards, outrebounding the opposition 43-17. The 'Dogs converted 27 points off 19 Tusculum turnovers, while the WU bench outscored the Tusculum reserves. Wingate led 19-5 in second-chance points and 6-0 in fast-break buckets.
 
The Bulldogs shot 50.9 percent from the floor (29-of-57) compared to a 39.5 shooting performance from the Pioneers (17-of-43). Wingate was also a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc with Tusculum nailing six-of-16 shots from three-point range (37.5 percent).
 
Newberry's Last Game
 
The Newberry Wolves fell in an overtime thriller to the Anderson Trojans this past Saturday from Eleazer Arena on the Newberry campus. Shelby Britten led all scorers with 20 points with Meg Essex falling short of a double-double with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Courtney Lyons (Park Orchards, Victoria, Australia) added 10 markers and eight boards. Jaya Schultz led all players with 11 total rebounds.
 
Newberry outrebounded Anderson 45-36, while leading 20-11 in second-chance points. The Wolves also held the 14-4 advantage in the assist category. Newberry shot 33.3 percent from the floor (22-of-66) compared to Anderson's 42.1 shooting percentage in the contest (24-of-57).
 
Previous Meeting
 
The (then) 23rd-ranked Wolves edged the Wingate Bulldogs by a final score of 72-63 from Eleazer Arena in November. Danasia Witherspoon led the WU scoring efforts with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Shelby Tricoli added a (then) season-high 15 points. Marta Miscenko contributed seven markers, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
 
Newberry sprinted out to its largest lead at 14 points to make the contest a 42-28 game with 8:02 on the third quarter clock. Wingate stormed back with a 9-0 rally to cut the margin down to one point at 44-43 with 4:10 remaining in the stanza. The Bulldogs failed to take their second lead of the contest as Newberry held on to a tight 49-47 advantage at the quarter break.
 
A two-point jumper from Witherspoon tied the score for the first time in the contest at 49-49 with 8:59 to go in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs eventually grabbed the 52-51 advantage to take their first lead of the second half with 8:37 on the clock. Newberry quickly erased the narrow deficit on a three-pointer from Handreck to take a 54-52 lead at the 8:18 plateau.
 
The Wolves held on to the lead for the duration of the fourth stanza, leading 62-58 with 3:34 remaining. The 'Dogs would not get any closer than three points with Newberry's largest advantage the nine-point 72-63 final margin of victory.
 
Wingate outrebounded Newberry 43-31, while dominating 23-8 in the offensive rebound category. The Bulldogs were 67 percent shooting from three-point range compared to the Wolves' 58 percent from downtown. The 'Dogs also maintained the 7-6 advantage in total steals and an 11-6 edge in second-chance points.
 
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.)