Greeneville, Tenn.----Wingate University sophomore center Teliyah Jeter exploded for 11 points, 14 rebounds, nine blocked shots and four steals as the Bulldogs collected a 51-47 South Atlantic Conference overtime victory over Tusculum University Saturday afternoon in Pioneer Arena. Wingate secures the season sweep, improving to 20-7 overall and 15-5 in SAC action. The TU Pioneers are 16-8 overall and 8-8 in the SAC. 
 
THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH ANN HANCOCK

"I'm incredibly proud of our competitive spirit. We didn't play our best game, but we kept battling when we could have easily given in and said to ourselves 'it just isn't our day.' We had several huge plays down the stretch from steals to charges to made layups and free throws which helped (us) pull out the win."
 
"Teliyah Jeter had a tremendous day. I thought her defensive effort was tremendous. (Tusculum senior center) Kendrea Duke really hurt us last game, so T took the scouting report to heart and at least challenged her inside. She was still effective, but at least T made it hard for her. It was a team effort against a very good Tusculum team."

KEY STATS

-The Bulldogs held the Pioneers to only two points in overtime
-Wingate shot 36 percent from the field (18-of-50) with only one three-pointer in seven tries
-Tusculum made 28.1 percent of its field goals (16-of-57)
-The Pioneers made eight-of-22 three-point field goals (36.4 percent)
-Wingate doubled-up Tusculum at the foul line, hitting 14-of-18 compared to seven-of-11 for the hosts
-Wingate outrebounded Tusculum 45-32
-The Bulldogs held a whopping 30-14 edge in points in the paint
-The Wingate reserves outscored the Tusculum substitutes 15-9

KEY BULLDOGS

-Caroline Averette had a game-high 15 points with eight rebounds
-Courtney Robinson and Danasia Witherspoon had eight and seven points, respectively
-Witherspoon matched Averette with eight rebounds
-Taylor Helms had a team-best five assists with five rebounds

NOTES

-Today's victory gives the Bulldogs 27 20-win seasons, including the last six years in a row
-Wingate is 31-12 overall against Tusculum, including 14-5 overall at Pioneer Arena
-Jeter has two double-doubles this week and four this season
-Averette has 23 double-figure scoring games this year

FIRST QUARTER

-Tusculum led 16-9 after the first quarter
-A three-pointer by Jasmine Williams put the Pioneers up 16-8 with 1:29 to go
-The Bulldogs made only three field goals in the first frame
 
SECOND QUARTER

-Tusculum took its biggest lead of the afternoon 26-15 on a three-pointer by Jalia Arnwine at the 4:12 mark
-Robinson hit back-to-back hoops (3:46, 3:11) and Jeter made a power move (2:18) to cut the deficit to 26-21 two minutes later
-The Pioneers led 28-21 at intermission; Kendrea Duke led the way with seven points
-Robinson led Wingate with six first-half points

THIRD QUARTER

-A jumper by Wingate's Jasmine Stephen tied the score 28-28 with 4:29 to go
-A Robinson jumper from a Helms' helper gave WU its first lead at 33-32 at the 1:43 mark
-Arnwine's three-point field goal put Tusculum up 37-35 at the end of three quarters
 
FOURTH QUARTER
 
-Arnwine hit her game-high third (and final) three-pointer at the 8:28 mark to give the Pioneers a 40-35 advantage
-Witherspoon hit back-to-back buckets (6:48, 6:00) to cut the WU deficit to 40-39
-The contest was tied at 41 and 43
-Averette's jumper gave the visitors a 45-43 edge at the 2:19 mark
-Duke's lay-up tied the score 45-45 with 22 seconds remaining
-Tusculum came up with a steal in the final seconds, but Averette blocked the Pioneers' final shot attempt to send the game to overtime
 
OVERTIME

-Jeter started the extra frame with four free throws (two each at 3:24 and 3:00) to give the 'Dogs the lead for good
-Duke made a lay-up with 1:28 to play to cut the deficit in half
-Tusculum missed two three-point attempts in the final minute
-Jo Snow snagged the rebound on the second TU three-pointer miss
-Snow made two free throws with three seconds to go to settle the final margin

UP NEXT

-Wingate is the number two seed in the upcoming South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J women's basketball championship; Tusculum is the number seven seed
-The Bulldogs and the TU Pioneers will meet for the third time this season (and the second time in five days) on Wednesday night in the tourney's first round
-Game time in Wingate's Cuddy Arena is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN3