Women's Basketball | 2/3/2017 12:13:00 PM

Harrogate, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs seek to continue their five-game win streak in a high-stakes South Atlantic Conference women's basketball contest versus the fifth-ranked, undefeated Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters from Tex Turner Arena on the LMU campus Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is slated for a 12 noon start with the game being televised nationally on the American Sports Network as part of the NCAA Division II Showcase (video link).
 
Wingate is 16-4 overall and 12-3 in the SAC. Lincoln Memorial is one of only three remaining undefeated teams in the nation at 20-0 overall and 15-0 in league play. The Bulldogs currently sit at second place in the SAC standings behind first-place LMU. Wingate dropped an 84-83 double overtime thriller to the (then) 11th-ranked LMU Railsplitters in the first meeting from Cuddy Arena on Dec. 14, 2016. Since then, the 'Dogs have been victorious in 11 of their last 12 games.
 
"Saturday should be a fun game," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "LMU is having an outstanding season and the first game with them was very evenly matched. We will need to handle their defensive pressure, limit them to one shot and defend the three-point line."
 
Wingate Players to Watch
 
The Bulldogs are led by the dynamic duo of sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) and junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia). Witherspoon has established herself as one of the top scoring threats in the SAC, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds per contest.
 
The Hickory High School product also leads her team and ranks fourth in the conference with an impressive 52.5 shooting percentage on the season. Witherspoon also ranks fourth in total offensive rebounds (61) and fifth in steals (32).
 
Miscenko averages a double-double in her third-year campaign with 15.3 points and 10.3 boards in 20 games played. The University of Texas El Paso transfer is second in the SAC individual standings with her average rebound total, first in total blocked shots (57), first in offensive rebounds (86), second in total rebounds (206) and third overall in defensive boards (120).
 
WU sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.) and senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) contribute 8.8 and 7.8 points per contest, respectively. Averette ranks first overall in the conference with her 55 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Senior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) leads the Bulldogs and ranks fourth in the SAC with her 79 total assists in her final season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold.
 
Lincoln Memorial Players to Watch
 
The LMU Railsplitters are led by senior guard/forward Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.), who averages a double-double with 16.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Pittman is listed as the fifth-leading scorer in the SAC with her average point total and third overall in rebounds per contest. Pittman also has posted 20 total blocked shots on the season.
 
LMU junior guard Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) also averages double figures with 13.9 markers per game through 19 starts. Coker leads the Railsplitters with a 52 percent shooting percentage from the floor. She has shot an impressive 52 percent from three-point range, ranking second overall in the SAC individual standings.
 
Redshirt junior guard Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) and senior center Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) add 8.8 and 7.5 points per contest, respectively. Harding is first in the conference with an average of 11 rebounds per game. In addition, Harding has tallied 13 blocks and 10 steals in her final campaign with the Railsplitters.
 
"Pittman is having a great season," Hancock says. "Hopefully we can contain her, but they have so many scoring options it will be hard to guard them."
 
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 234-201 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.
 
Lincoln Memorial Coaches
 
The LMU women's basketball program is led by third-year head coach Krystal Evans, who took over the helm of the Railsplitters in June of 2014. Evans has compiled an overall record of 50-27 during her current tenure.
 
Prior to arriving in Harrogate, Tenn., Evans served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Georgetown University Hoyas of the Big East Conference, where she signed the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history.
 
She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2002-03 season. From there, Evans made the move to Gardner-Webb University, where she spent nine seasons as an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and eventually promoted to the associate head coach position. Evans is also a previous Division I women's basketball student-athlete at Southern Mississippi and for the Liberty University Flames.
 
Evans is assisted by assistant women's basketball coach Al Carrington, who was previously the head coach at Salem Baptist Christian School in Winston Salem, N.C. LMU assistant coach Matt Acton also accompanies the coaching staff after joining the Railsplitter family in 2010 after two seasons at Winston-Salem State University.
 
The LMU staff also consists of graduate assistant coach Jacqueline Kestner, volunteer assistant/free throw coach Jim Grubb and student assistant coach Kiara Rawls.
 
Wingate's Last Game
 
The Wingate Bulldogs earned their fifth consecutive victory with a 61-54 triumph over Newberry from Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Wednesday. Danasia Witherspoon had 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks to lead the hosts.
 
Marta Miscenko and Caroline Averette added 13 points each with Miscenko recording her 11th double-double of the season. The 6-4 junior contributed a game-high 13 rebounds and a team-best three blocked shots. Averette nailed four-of-five field goals and two-of-three shots from three-point range.
 
Wingate shot 42.4 percent from the floor (25-of-59), compared to Newberry's 37.9 shooting percentage (22-of-58). The Bulldogs outrebounded the Wolves 41-32, while also maintaining the slight 11-10 edge in the assist category.
 
The WU bench outscored the Newberry substitutes by a dominant margin of 23-4 and the 'Dogs also outscored the Wolves 34-22 in the paint. The hosts converted 14 points off 13 Newberry turnovers and led 14-10 in second-chance points.
 
Lincoln Memorial's Last Game
 
The LMU Railsplitters maintained their undefeated record with an 86-74 SAC road victory over Brevard from Boshamer Gymnasium this past Wednesday. Megan Pittman posted a career-high 30 points to lead the scoring attack and was the first LMU women's basketball student-athlete to reach the 30-point mark since 2012.
 
Pittman also collected 15 rebounds to complete her double-double performance. Karsen Sims contributed 13 points and freshman guard Sydney Duggins (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) added 11 markers for the visitors.
 
Lincoln Memorial shot 44.9 percent from the field (35-of-78) and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc (eight-of-22). The Railsplitters also converted 80 percent from the charity stripe (eight-of-10).
 
LMU dominated Brevard on the boards by a margin of 44-17 and outscored the opposition 36-20 in the paint. The Railsplitters scored 13 points off 16 Tornado turnovers, while the LMU bench heavily outscored the Brevard reserves 27-0. Lincoln Memorial also posted a 22-0 shut-out in second-chance points.
 
Previous Meeting
 
Shea Coker nailed the game-winning jumper with four seconds remaining in the second overtime period as (then) 11th-ranked Lincoln Memorial avoided its first loss of the season in an 84-83 double overtime thriller over the Wingate Bulldogs.
 
Four Bulldogs finished with double figures as Caroline Averette posted a career-high 22 points to lead the scoring. Danasia Witherspoon and Marta Miscenko each posted double-doubles in the contest with Miscenko recording her (then) sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Witherspoon added 17 points and 10 boards for the second double-double performance of her sophomore campaign. Graduate student point guard Amber Neely (Charlotte, N.C.) contributed 12 points for the hosts.
 
The 'Dogs trailed by 11 points with 8:14 in the fourth quarter, but commenced their furious comeback with an 8-0 mini-run to cut the margin down to three points on a two-point jumper from Miscenko to make the score 58-55 at the 5:59 mark.
 
A three-pointer from Averette put the hosts within two points with 1:04 remaining in regulation, followed by back-to-back free throws from Miscenko to give Wingate its first lead of the game with 47 seconds left. The home team led by a score of 69-67; however, a converted lay-up from Sims knotted the score at 69-69 to send the thrilling contest to its first overtime period.
 
With the 'Dogs trailing 82-81 with 2:05 left in second overtime, Averette nailed a clutch two-pointer to give the hosts an 83-82 advantage with 1:39 on the clock. Neither team would tally a bucket until Coker hit the jumper with four seconds left to give Lincoln Memorial the epic victory.
 
Wingate outrebounded Lincoln Memorial 46-42, while also maintaining the 15-9 edge in assists. The Bulldogs outscored LMU 44-32 in the paint, held the 16-15 advantage in points off turnovers and led 14-11 in second-chance buckets. The Bulldog bench outscored the Railsplitters' reserves 31-24 in the contest. Wingate shot 41.5 percent from the field with LMU posting a 42.5 field goal percentage.
 
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.)