Greenville, S.C.----Wingate University senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) scored a career-high 21 points, lifting the third-seeded Bulldogs to an 81-61 victory over top-seed and NCAA number 11 Lincoln Memorial University in the South Atlantic Conference women's basketball tournament championship game in Timmons Arena Sunday. Rumplasch was the leading scorer in the 2016 SAC title game as well, posting 16 points as Wingate edged Anderson 67-61.
 
With the triumph, Wingate (25-5 overall) wins its ninth SAC tournament championship crown and third in the last four years under fifth-year head coach Ann Hancock.  The Bulldogs earn the league's automatic qualification to the NCAA Division II tournament. Wingate leads the SAC with 15 appearances in the NCAA Division II national tournament. The Bulldogs have an overall NCAA tourney record of 15-15 with Elite Eight appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2008. Lincoln Memorial (26-4 overall) will await news of an at-large tourney berth.
 
Rumplasch had only four SAC tournament points entering the 2017 tourney title game with two markers each against Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba. Bulldog sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) added 18 points and seven rebounds, while junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) and sophomore guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) contributed 10 points each. Miscenko recorded her 15th double-double of the season with a team-best 11 rebounds.
 
Witherspoon was the SAC tournament MVP. The Hickory High School product had 30 points in Wingate's two weekend games. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Miscenko and WU sophomore guard Caroline Averette (Midlothian, Va.). Lincoln Memorial was represented on the tournament honor squad by senior center Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) and sophomore guard Emily Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.).
 
For the SAC regular season champion LMU Railsplitters, Harding joined Miscenko in the double-double club with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Emily Griffith and junior guard Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) posted 11 points each.
 
Wingate led 51-27 on a transition jumper from Robinson (thanks to an Averette dish) with 4:47 left in the third quarter. The Robinson hoop gave the Bulldogs their largest lead (24 points) of the afternoon. Lincoln Memorial scored the last six points of the third frame, cutting the deficit to 57-41 on a Harding lay-up with 15 seconds to play in the third stanza. Wingate led by the same margin entering the final 10 minutes.
 
The Railsplitters would get no closer than the 15 points in the fourth frame. A basket by sophomore guard Dasia Maxwell (Knoxville, Tenn.) cut the LMU deficit to 67-52 with 4:20 left. Rumplasch made two free throws six seconds later to nudge Wingate's lead to 17. Fittingly, Rumplasch hit Wingate's final field goal to make the score 81-57 with 59 seconds to play. LMU sophomore guard Rachel Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) and Coker made hoops in the waning moments to settle the final margin.
 
In the first quarter, LMU senior forward Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) hit a three-point field goal on the opening possession (thanks to a Coker assist). Witherspoon had the answer for Wingate, scoring back-to-back inside hoops (9:29, 8:51) to give the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish.
 
The score was tied three times in the first frame (four, six and 10), but Wingate would lead 16-12 after the opening 10 minutes. Witherspoon led both teams with eight markers, while Pittman led LMU with five points. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 37-24 at halftime, thanks to a 53.8 percent shooting performance in the opening half (14-of-26). Witherspoon had 11 points at the break, while Emily Griffith led the 'Splitters with six.
 
Thanks in large part to Rumplasch and Robinson, the Wingate bench outscored the Lincoln Memorial substitutes 38-11. The Bulldogs held a 34-16 margin in points in the paint. Wingate outrebounded LMU 39-36. The Navy Blue and Vegas Gold-clad Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor (25-of-50), while the Railsplitters managed only 33.3 percent accuracy from the field (22-of-66).
 
Wingate hit four-of-seven three-point field goals (57.1 percent), with senior guard Alex Tomlinson (Raleigh, N.C.) leading both teams with two triples. LMU made only three-of-12 from downtown (25 percent). The Bulldogs hit 27-of-34 free throws (79.4 percent), with Witherspoon canning 10-of-15 by herself.