Women's Lacrosse | 3/24/2017 1:38:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs look to build on back-to-back victories last week when they host the Coker College Cobras in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse action from Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs enter the league encounter after a huge 16-8 triumph over Lincoln Memorial Sunday. Wingate defeated Coker by a score of 15-8 on March 26, 2016 from Hartsville, S.C.
 
Wingate enters the Coker match-up at 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the SAC. Coker is 7-2 overall and 3-0 league play. The Cobras are the highest-scoring team in the conference, totaling 133 goals on the season and average 14.78 goals per game. The Bulldogs are second in the SAC with 11.75 tallies per contest.
 
The Bulldogs are led by senior midfielder Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.), who tops the WU scoring charts with 30 total goals in her final season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold. Andrews had a five-goal performance last weekend versus LMU, along with back-to-back, six-goal games against Charleston (W.Va.) and Lenoir-Rhyne. Andrews is third in the SAC with her goal total.
 
WU redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) ranks second on the team scoring list with 20 total tallies. Senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) has compiled 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) on the season. Dempsey is fourth in the league standings with her assist total. Freshman attack/midfielder Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md.) is the fourth Bulldog to post double figures with 10 goals and four assists.
 
Bulldogs sophomore goalkeeper and reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) has started all eight games in the cage for Wingate, tallying 74 total saves with a 6-2 record. Pierre is first in the SAC with a 54.4 save percentage and 8.34 goals-against average. She posted a career-high 18 saves versus Rollins College (Feb. 26) and 11 saves this past Sunday against Lincoln Memorial.
 
For Coker, junior attack Haley McCusker (Warwick, R.I.) leads the SAC and is tied for second in the nation with 42 total goals. McCusker is also tied for fourth in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse with 4.56 goals per contest, along with ranking second in the league with 48 total points.
 
Coker sophomore attack Faith Kent (Winter Springs, Fla.) supports McCusker's efforts with 29 total tallies and 20 assists on the season. Kent is fourth overall in the league individual standings with her goal total and ranks first with 49 points.
 
Cobra junior midfielder Claudia Jenkins (Keedysville, Md.) has added 21 goals and seven assists, while senior midfielder MacKenzie Baker (Orlando, Fla.) and senior defender Marabeth Durden (Orlando, Fla.) each contribute 13 goals. Freshman goalkeeper Cassie Williams (Rockledge, Fla.) has started all nine games for the Cobras, posting 76 saves. She is second in the SAC with 7.89 goals-against average. Williams also has a 51.7 save percentage, which ranks third overall in the conference.
 
After falling 17-6 in their season opener versus Mount Olive, the Coker Cobras have won seven out of their last eight contests, including five consecutive games Feb. 16 through March 11. Coker has averaged 16.85 goals in each of its seven victories. The Cobras have posted back-to-back 19 goal games versus Newberry and Erskine entering Saturday's contest.
 
Wingate posted their best start in program history to begin the 2017 season at 4-1 overall after the huge 17-8 victory over the University of Charleston. The Bulldogs then suffered a heart-breaking defeat to SAC rival Lenoir-Rhyne 14-12 before responding with two straight victories over Edinboro (Pa.) and Lincoln Memorial.
 
(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.)