Women's Basketball | 2/10/2017 12:57:00 PM

Brevard, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs look to build on their longest win streak of the 2016-17 campaign at seven consecutive contests when they travel west to the N.C. mountains to face Brevard College in a South Atlantic Conference road encounter from Boshamer Gymnasium. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. (please note time change).
 
The Bulldogs rolled to a dominant 75-51 victory over the Tornados in the last meeting from Cuddy Arena on Dec. 17, 2016. Wingate currently sits at 18-4 overall and 14-3 in the SAC. Brevard is 6-15 overall and 2-15 in league play. The Tornados have lost 10 out of their last 11 games. The 'Dogs hold the second-place spot in the conference standings at two games behind nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial (21-1, 16-1 SAC).
 
Wingate Players to Watch
 
Wingate sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) continues to thrive as one of the top scorers in the league, averaging 13.8 points per game. Witherspoon has also compiled 6.6 rebounds per contest and a team-leading 53.2 percent field goal percentage.
 
The Hickory High School graduate ranks fourth in the SAC with her season field goal percentage, sixth in total offensive rebounds (66) and fifth in steals (36). Witherspoon has posted double-digit points in five of her last six contests.
 
Junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) nearly averages a double-double on the season with 15 points and 9.8 rebounds through 22 games. Miscenko has tallied 11 double-double performances on the season and is second overall in the league individual standings with 63 total blocks.
 
The University of Texas El Paso transfer is eighth in the SAC with her average point total, third in total offensive boards (86), fourth in defensive rebounds (129), third in rebounds per game and third in total rebounds (215).
 
Sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) and senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) average 8.4 and 7.6 points per contest, respectively. Averette continues to hold the first-place spot in the SAC with her 50 percent field goal clip from three-point range. Senior point guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) is fourth in the SAC with 83 total assists in the 2016-17 campaign.
 
Brevard Players to Watch
 
Brevard senior guard Madison Lenox (Raleigh, N.C.) leads the SAC in scoring with an impressive 21 points per game and 9.6 rebounds through 21 starts. Lenox ranks fourth overall in the league individual standings with her average rebound total.
 
The Wakefield High School product ranks near the top of the SAC in multiple statistical categories including first in total points (442), second in steals (57), fourth in blocked shots (41), first in defensive rebounds (177) and fourth in total rebounds (201).
 
Sophomore guard AnnaLee Bollinger (Hickory, N.C.) is second on the Brevard scoring charts with 12 points per game. Senior forward Lynsey Crisp (Robbinsville, N.C.) is the third Tornado to average double figures with 10.6 markers per contest along with her 10 steals and 13 blocks.
 
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 236-201 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 for 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.
 
Brevard Coaches
 
The Tornados are led by interim head coach Donald Hudson, who took over the Brevard program in place of previous head coach Shannon Reid. Hudson served as an assistant coach under Reid from 2013-15. He commenced his coaching career following his graduation from Brevard in 2011. During his time as a BC undergraduate, Hudson was a member of the football and basketball programs.
 
During his 2009-10 season as a men's basketball student-athlete, Hudson was a key member of a Tornados club which earned the SAC Tournament Championship crown, finishing 21-10 overall and 10-6 in conference play.
 
Hudson is assisted by first-year women's basketball assistant coach Taylor Hiatt. A 2014 graduate of Brevard, Hiatt is a previous four-year women's basketball student-athlete for the Tornados. During her playing career, she was named team captain for three seasons. 
 
Wingate's Last Game
 
The Wingate Bulldogs earned their seventh straight victory with a 56-42 SAC home triumph over Queens University of Charlotte from Cuddy Arena Wednesday. Marta Miscenko led the WU scoring efforts with 13 points and five rebounds to lead her team.
 
Shelby Tricoli finished second on the Bulldog scoring charts with nine points, while her classmate Alex Tomlinson added eight points for the hosts. Sophomore forward Zasha Barrett (Monroe, N.C.) and sophomore guard Caroline Averette contributed six and five markers, respectively.
 
Wingate outrebounded Queens 33-30, while maintaining the 12-5 edge in the assist category. The Bulldogs outscored the Royals 36-26 in the paint and blanked Queens 12-0 in fast-break points. The WU bench outscored the Queens reserves by a 20-13 margin.
 
Hancock's squad converted 22 points off 26 Queens' turnovers, while shooting 41.4 percent from the floor (23-of-58). The Royals were 17-of-40 from the field (42.5 percent) in the contest. Miscenko led all student-athletes with four blocked shots with her team leading 11-5 in total steals. Witherspoon tallied four steals to lead both teams. The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest, leading by as many as 19 points in the contest.
 
Brevard's Last Game
 
The Brevard Tornados hosted Mars Hill in a SAC home encounter and fell to the visiting Lions by a final score of 85-59 from Boshamer Gymnasium Wednesday. AnnaLee Bollinger led the hosts with 21 points and a five-for-10 shooting performance from beyond the arc. Madison Lenox fell short of a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Whitney DeMoss (Candler, N.C.) added 11 markers.
 
Brevard shot 39.7 percent from the floor (23-of-58) compared to Mars Hill's hot 53.1 percent shooting performance. Mars Hill swept nearly every statistical category, slightly outrebounding the Tornados 31-26. Brevard converted 15 points off 13 MHU turnovers. The Tornado bench outscored the Lions substitutes 11-4.
 
Previous Meeting
 
Wingate earned a dominant 75-51 triumph over Brevard on Dec. 17, 2016 with Miscenko leading the charge, posting 19 points, six rebounds and four blocks to her statistical ledger. Witherspoon and sophomore point guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) supported Miscenko's efforts with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Bulldogs swept the BC Tornados in every major statistical category throughout the contest. Wingate outrebounded Brevard 51-22 while dominating 22-6 in offensive boards and 29-16 in the defensive rebound category.
 
The 'Dogs led 14-0 in fast-break points, 12-3 in blocks, 20-8 in assists, 21-7 in points off turnovers and 17-8 in second-chance buckets. The hosts also outscored the visitors 52-18 in the paint. The WU bench outscored the Brevard reserves 29-6 in the contest.
 
The league game remained a close contest in the second quarter of play with a 26-26 tie at the 5:33 mark. The 'Dogs put together an 11-3 run to end the stanza and grab the 38-29 advantage at the halftime intermission. Witherspoon led the hosts with 11 points, while Lenox topped the visitors' charts with 12 markers.
 
Wingate came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders with a 13-0 run to sprint out to a commanding 22-point advantage at 51-29 with 3:37 remaining in the third quarter. The Bulldogs led by a double-digit margin for the remainder of the 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.)