Wingate, N.C.----Sophomore attack Annie Plotts piled up career highs of six goals and four assists, lifting Wingate to a 16-13 South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse victory over UVA Wise Saturday afternoon at Graham Gill Field. Wingate is 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SAC, while UVA Wise is 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the league.

THOUGHTS FROM ABBY WILEY

"It was great to get our first conference win at home. We had a lot of goal scorers today, showing how versatile our attack can be. Annie Plotts had a stellar game, she really has found her groove. Megan Biase had a great showing in the cage with 14 saves."

KEY STATS

- Wingate won 21-of-31 draw controls
- UVA Wise had a slight 38-33 edge in shots
- The Cavaliers had 27 shots on goal; the 'Dogs had 26 on target
- Wingate had 23 turnovers; the Cavaliers committed 21 miscues
- The Bulldogs converted three-of-five free-position shots; UVA Wise was three-of-eight

KEY BULLDOGS

- Plotts' 10 points led both teams
- She led the Bulldogs with 14 draw controls and four ground balls
- Leah Knowles contributed three goals
- Becca Ruiz had two goals and one assist
- Megan Biase piled up 14 saves on the afternoon
- She matched Plotts with four ground balls

NOTES

- Wingate wins its first-ever meeting with UVA Wise
- The Bulldogs have won five-of-six contests, dating back to the 2020 season
- Wingate has tallied 96 goals in those six games
- The 'Dogs have won the last 15 times they have scored at least 15 goals
- Plotts had the most goals, assists or points of any Bulldog this season
- Her 14 draw controls are seven more than any other player this season
- First Bulldog with 10 points in a game since Kendall Wells in the 2020 season opener
- Knowles has at least three points in six straight games
- Ruiz has notched three points in two of her last three contests
- Career-high 14 saves for Biase
- The sophomore has had double-digit saves in eight of her 12 career games

FIRST HALF

- Wingate sprinted to a 5-0 lead and never looked back
- Plotts scored two of the first five goals for the hosts
- A Ruiz tally made the score 5-0 at the 23:24 mark
- UVA Wise's Sydney Trask posted three goals in the first half
- Trask found the back of the nets to cut the Cavaliers deficit to 6-3 with 12:48 to play
- The Bulldogs finished the half on a 4-1 run
- Three different WU players posted a goal to complete the first half scoring
- Morgan Akers concluded a half-ending 3-0 spurt with a goal at the 3:05 plateau
 
SECOND HALF
 
- Knowles opened the second-half scoring (25:29) to make the score 11-4 'Dogs
- Plotts posted an unassisted goal at the 19:25 plateau to give WU a 13-5 advantage
- The eight-goal bulge was the hosts' largest of the afternoon
- UVA Wise scored four unanswered goals to cut the deficit to 13-9
- Caroline Earnshaw had back-to-back goals (12:36, 12:29) to finish the Cavs' spurt
- Plotts (11:13) and Knowles (10:39) responded to nudge Wingate's lead to 15-9
- The Cavaliers ended the game with a 3-0 run to make things interesting
 
UP NEXT

- Wingate travels to Queens Wednesday at 4 p.m.
- The Bulldogs return home next Saturday, entertaining Coker at 3 p.m.