Salisbury, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) tallied 17 points on six-of-10 shooting (60 percent) to lead the 25th-ranked Bulldogs to a 73-61 victory over the Catawba College Indians in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action from Goodman Gymnasium Wednesday evening. The Bulldogs claim their 11th consecutive victory and the 16th in their last 17 contests.
 
Wingate improves to 22-4 overall and 18-3 in the SAC. Catawba is now 15-11 overall and 12-9 in league play. The Bulldogs close out the 2016-17 regular season campaign this Saturday when they travel to Anderson for a 2 p.m. start. Catawba hosts its Senior Day game versus first-place and ninth-ranked Lincoln Memorial on the same day and time.

"Every road win is huge at this point in the season," Wingate head coach Ann Hancock says. "Our bench play was outstanding. They made a run at us to end the second quarter, but I thought we responded well in the second half. We were able to get defensive stops when we need them."
 
WU sophomore guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) was the other Bulldog to finish with double figures, tallying 13 points on six-of-11 shots (54 percent). Wingate junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia), sophomore guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) and and graduate student point guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) contributed eight points each. Miscenko flirted with her 14th double-double of the season, posting a team-high six rebounds.
 
Bulldog senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) added seven points on three-of-four field goals (75 percent). Senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) tallied four points to score her 1000th and 1001st career points on a lay-up with 3:14 remaining in the second quarter to give Wingate its largest lead of the contest at 18 points (39-21).
 
The WU bench heavily outscored the Catawba reserves 41-8, while the Bulldogs outscored the hosts 36-30 in the paint. Wingate outrebounded the Indians 34-28 and converted six offensive boards into eight second-chance points.
 
"Winning the boards was big," Hancock says. "Caroline made some huge buckets down the stretch. It's also exciting for Shelby to get her 1000th point. She has worked hard to join the prestigious 1000-point club. Hopefully, we can build on this for Saturday."
 
Four Catawba student-athletes posted double-digit points with junior center Terri Rogers (Burlington, N.C.) leading the charge with 17 points and 10 rebounds to complete her double-double. Senior guard Bri Johnson (Statesville, N.C.) added 11 markers, while junior guard Serena Brown (Ft. Washington, Md.) and freshman guard Madison Hallman (Thomasville, N.C.) recorded 10 points each.
 
Catawba held the advantage for a solid portion of the first quarter, jumping out to the early 9-4 lead with 6:54 in the opening frame. Wingate grabbed its first lead at 12-11 on a lay-up from Miscenko with 4:11 left in the stanza. Robinson hit a two-point jumper with one second on the clock to give the Bulldogs a 16-11 advantage at the break between quarters.
 
The 'Dogs never trailed for the remainder of the contest since taking their first lead. A fast break lay-up from Robinson gave the visitors a nine-point advantage (20-11) to begin the second quarter with 8:56 on the clock. Catawba cut the lead down to six points, but a free throw from Tricoli allowed Wingate to take its first double-digit lead of the contest (29-19) at the 6:06 mark.
 
Wingate held the double digit advantage for the majority of the second frame, leading by as many as 18 points. A basket from Rogers would trim the deficit down to single digits at nine points (39-30) with 37 seconds left. Catawba converted another bucket to make it a seven-point game with 24 ticks on the clock, thanks to a lay-up from Hallman. Wingate led 39-32 at the halftime intermission.
 
The Bulldogs led the entire third quarter. A three-pointer from Robinson gave Wingate its first double-digit advantage of the frame (55-45) with 1:59 to go. With the 'Dogs leading by nine with 1:20 left, Rumplasch nailed a two-point basket to extend the margin out to 11 markers with 11 seconds remaining in the stanza. The 25th-ranked Bulldogs maintained the 60-50 advantage entering the final quarter.
 
Catawba would get no closer than nine points in the final quarter of play as Averette nailed back-to-back charity tosses to give the visitors a 10-point lead at the 9:35 mark. Wingate led by double figures for the remainder of regulation, stretching its lead to as many as 14 markers. The 'Dogs held on for the 12-point victory.
 
Wingate shot 56.4 percent as a team from the floor (31-of-55), while Catawba hit 23-of-59 field goals in the contest (39 percent). The Bulldogs were nearly perfect from the free-throw line, finishing 10-of-11 from the charity stripe (90.9 percent). The Indians hit 11-of-13 charity tosses (84.6 percent). Averette led all free-throw shooters, finishing five-of-five from the line.
 
(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.)