Greenville, S.C.----Wingate University seniors Courtney Robinson and Caroline Averette combined for 40 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 70-61 South Atlantic Conference tournament semifinal triumph over Lincoln Memorial University Saturday afternoon in Timmons Arena on the Furman University campus. Wingate is 22-7 overall and will face NCAA Division II number 15 Anderson (27-2 overall) in Sunday's 1 p.m. championship game.
 
THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH ANN HANCOCK

"I am very excited for this group of seniors as well as the entire team. They have worked extremely hard for the opportunity to play for a championship. It was a team effort for sure, but Courtney stepped up big when we struggled to score. Our effort on the boards in the second half was huge. LMU's ability to rebound makes them really hard to play against. We are looking forward to the opportunity to play on Sunday."

KEY STATS

-Wingate shot 70 percent (seven-of-10) from the floor in the decisive fourth quarter
-The Bulldogs outscored the Railsplitters 28-18 in the aforementioned fourth frame
-For the game, Wingate hit 48.9 percent from the floor (23-of-47)
-Lincoln Memorial managed only 33.3 percent shooting (20-of-60)
-The Bulldogs made 22-of-26 free throws (84.6 percent), including 14-of-17 in the fourth
-Wingate held a 35-33 rebounding edge
-LMU pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, compared to eight for Wingate

KEY BULLDOGS

-Courtney Robinson had 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in 39 minutes
-Robinson made eight-of-eight from the free throw line
-Caroline Averette had 16 points and four rebounds
-Averette was perfect from the line as well (five-of-five)
-Teliyah Jeter had eight points, six rebounds and four blocked shots

NOTES

-With today's victory, the Bulldogs have qualified for four straight SAC championship games
-Wingate has won three of the last five SAC tournament titles
-The Bulldogs have 27 20-win seasons, including the last six years in a row
-Wingate is 19-9 overall against Lincoln Memorial
-The Bulldogs pick up their second SAC tourney win over LMU (in three tries)
-The game featured nine lead changes and eight tie scores
-Averette has 24 double-figure scoring games this year
-The first team All-SAC performer scored a team-best 45 points against LMU this year

FIRST QUARTER

-Averette and LMU's Emily Griffith had 10 points each as the first quarter ended 18-18
-Wingate hit seven-of-11 field goals (63.6 percent), while LMU made seven-of-12 (58.3 percent)
-The first frame featured three ties and three lead changes
-Fittingly, Averette (1:07) and Emily Griffith (0:02) traded three-point field goals to end the first 10 minutes
 
SECOND QUARTER

-Both teams went cold in the second stanza, as Wingate shot 16.7 percent (two-of-12) and LMU shot 17.6 percent (three-of-17)
-Wingate scored only seven points
-LMU took its biggest lead of the night with 2:06 left when Rachel Griffith hit two free throws to make the score 29-22 Railsplitters
-SAC Freshman of the Year Jo Snow hit a three-pointer for Wingate one minute later, settling the halftime score at 29-25 LMU
 
THIRD QUARTER

-Robinson had 10 of Wingate's 17 points in the third quarter
-The third quarter included three tie scores and two lead changes
-Lincoln Memorial led 43-42 at the end of 30 minutes, despite making only four-of-15 field goals in the third quarter (26.7 percent)
-LMU's Rachel Griffith converted a traditional three-point play with nine seconds left to give the 'Splitters the aforementioned 43-42 edge
 
FOURTH QUARTER
 
-Wingate took the lead for good at the 6:20 mark when Jeter made a jumper for a 52-50 WU advantage
-Jeter hit another bucket at the 5:42 plateau to finish an 8-0 Bulldog run for a 54-50 lead
-Jeter had six of the aforementioned eight points; Robinson had the other two
-On the ensuing possession, LMU hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 54-52
-Robinson made a jumper on the other end (3:45) to push the WU lead back to four
-The Railsplitters would get no closer down the stretch
-Robinson's two free throws made the margin 64-52 with 37 seconds left and gave Wingate its biggest lead of the afternoon
 
UP NEXT

-Wingate is the number two seed in the South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J women's basketball championship; Anderson is the number one seed
-The Bulldogs and the AU Trojans will meet for the third time this season
-#15 Anderson won the first game 67-65 in overtime (at Wingate) on Jan. 2, 2019
-The Trojans earned a 76-67 decision on Feb. 2, 2019 in Anderson, S.C.
-Game time in Furman's Timmons Arena is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN3