Hartsville, S.C.----Wingate University junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) posted the seventh double-double (16 points, 17 rebounds) of her breakout 2016-17 campaign to lead the Bulldogs to a convincing 66-51 victory over the Coker College Cobras in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action from the DeLoach Center Wednesday night. The 'Dogs extend their current win streak to four games.
Wingate improves to 9-3 overall and 5-2 in the SAC, moving up to third place in the conference standings. Coker is now 2-10 overall and 1-6 in conference action. The Wingate Bulldogs are back in action this Saturday for a crucial conference road showdown versus the Carson-Newman University Eagles for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Coker hits the road on the same day and time for a SAC road match-up against the Mars Hill University Lions.
"Every win is a good one, especially on the road in our league," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "I thought we played really well in the first and third quarters. We got out in transition and ran the floor to get easy scores. I think the players feed off each other when they are making plays."
WU sophomore guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) was the other Bulldog to post double figures with 11 points on five-of-nine shooting (55 percent). Senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) and sophomore Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) contributed nine and eight points, respectively. The duo also shot a combined 46 percent from the floor (seven-of-15).
Two Coker Cobras posted double-digit points in the contest with junior forward Iresha Cooper (Hemingway, S.C.) leading the charge with 12 points and four boards. Junior guard Kendra Lambert (Palmyra, Ind.) posted 10 points and three rebounds, while senior forward Lyric Levester (Jacksonville, N.C.) added eight points.
The Bulldogs swept every major statistical category in the contest. Wingate outrebounded Coker 41-36, while also maintaining the 10-6 edge in the assist category. The WU bench outscored the Coker reserves 29-21. The visitors also led 17-8 in second-chance baskets and converted 17 points off 15 Coker turnovers.
Wingate never trailed throughout the game leading wire-to-wire in the opening quarter with an early 12-6 advantage with 4:21 on the clock. Coker answered with four unanswered points to trim the deficit down to a two-point game at 12-10 with 2:04 remaining, but never took the lead. The Bulldogs maintained the 18-10 advantage at the break between quarters.
Coker never got any closer than eight points in the majority of the second quarter with Wingate grabbing their first double-digit lead of the contest at 22-12 with 8:14 in the stanza. The Bulldogs led by as many as 13 points with a score of 32-19 at the 2:31 mark. The 'Dogs held the 33-21 advantage with 1:36 remaining; however, the Cobras closed out the first half with a 7-0 run to make it a 33-28 game at the halftime intermission.
The Cobras trimmed the margin down to five points at 37-32 with 8:07 in the third stanza, but Wingate used an 8-2 run to sprint out to an 11-point advantage on a lay-up from senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) to make it a 45-34 Bulldog lead. Coker would not get closer than 12 points for the remainder of the quarter with the 'Dogs grabbing their largest advantage at 18 points with 19 seconds remaining. Wingate led by a convincing margin of 59-41 entering the final stanza of play.
A lay-up from Robinson gave the visiting squad a commanding 20-point advantage at 61-41 with 9:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. Coker cut the deficit down to 66-51 with 3:07 left in the stanza, but neither team scored for the remainder of the contest as the Bulldogs held on for the 15-point victory.
"Marta Miscenko had another impressive game," Hancock says. "She is definitely a factor on the both ends of the floor. Graduate student guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) made some nice passes on the break. Kristina also ran the floor well and finished plays."
Wingate shot 43.9 percent from the field (29-of-66 shooting) while the WU defense held Coker to only 34.5 percent shooting (20-of-58) in the contest. Miscenko tallied six blocked shots for the Bulldogs to add to her impressive total of 40 on the season. The 'Dogs also forced five steals compared to Coker's four total takeaways.
(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.)
