Charlotte, N.C.----The number eight Queens University of Charlotte women's lacrosse team clinched an outright South Atlantic Conference title with its 17-7 triumph over Wingate University at the Queens Sports Complex Wednesday afternoon. The Royals improve to 13-3 overall and 7-0 in the SAC. The Wingate Bulldogs are 11-4 overall and 5-2 in the SAC.
 
Wingate concludes the 2017 regular season Saturday, venturing up the mountain for a 12 noon SAC contest at Tusculum. Queens also hits the road Saturday, going the other direction for a 3 p.m. league encounter at Newberry.
 
Queens senior midfielder Kelly Dowd (Stony Point, N.Y.) had five goals and one assist to lead all scorers with six points. Classmate and position mate Alexandra Bruder (Ocean City, Md.) matched Dowd with five goals. For Wingate, redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) had four goals. Senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) had two scores.
 
O'Neal sandwiched two goals (26:37, 22:08) around a Dowd tally at 24:19 to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage. Queens answered with a 13-0 run spanning both halves to take a 14-2 lead on another Dowd tally at the 27:45 mark of the second stanza. Dowd scored the last three goals of the flurry, including a free-position score to end the first half (3:10) to send the Royals to their locker room with an 11-goal lead at intermission.
 
The Bulldogs did not quit, outscoring their hosts 5-4 after the halftime break. Dempsey started a 4-0 run for the visitors with a goal at the 19:25 mark to make the score 15-4 Royals. O'Neal added her final two goals (14:35, 12:58) before Dempsey finished the push with Wingate's final goal at the 7:50 plateau to pull the 'Dogs within eight at 15-7. Queens added two late goals to settle the final margin.
 
The Royals outshot the Bulldogs 37-15, including a 29-13 advantage in the shots on goal category. Queens won the statistical battle in draw controls (17-8) and ground balls (24-15), while making eight fewer turnovers than Wingate (22-14).
 
Wingate sophomore goalie Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) took the loss, only her fourth of the season. In 60 minutes, Pierre had 12 saves while allowing 17 goals. Queens freshman goalie Chase Brokaw (Sykesville, Md.) matched Coker first-year goalie Cassie Williams with her 12th win of the season. Brokaw posted six saves while surrendering seven goals.
 
Entering the final weekend of the season, three teams are tied for second place in the SAC standings with 5-2 league slates (Coker, Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate). Queens is two games ahead of the pack at 7-0, while Catawba is only one game behind the second-place traffic jam with a 4-3 SAC record. The league office will announce tournament pairings Saturday night.