Hickory, N.C.----The second-seeded and 13th-ranked Limestone University Saints jumped out to a 10-5 halftime lead, then held off the third-seeded Wingate University en route to a 14-10 victory in the semifinals of the 2021 South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse tournament. Limestone improves to 11-1 overall, advancing to the SAC title game. The Bulldogs fall to 11-3 on the season.
KEY STATS
- Limestone held a 30-22 advantage in shots
- The Saints held a 20-15 edge in shots on goal
- The Bulldogs won 16 of the 26 draw controls
- Limestone had 19 of the 31 ground balls on the night
- The 'Dogs committed 22 turnovers; Limestone turned it over 17 times
- The Saints were 21-for-24 on clears attempts; the Bulldogs were 13-for-17
KEY BULLDOGS
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Annie Plotts piled up five goals , three draw controls and a caused turnover
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Kendall Wells added three goals on the night
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Abby Burke had a goal, three draw controls and a caused turnover
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Leah Knowles added a goal, a caused turnover and a ground ball
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Nina Cifolilli handed out three assists;
Becca Ruiz also had an assist
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Kayleigh Hiles piled up nine draw controls on the night
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Megan Biase registered six saves
- Seven different Bulldogs notched a caused turnover
FIRST HALF
- Limestone raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first four minutes, with three different goal scorers
- Burke got the 'Dogs on the board at the 25:25 mark to make it 3-1
- A Rachel Denney goal three minutes later put the Saints on top by four
- Plotts netted her first goal of the day with 21:54 remaining to pull Wingate back within three
- Wells and Plotts scored in a one-minute span to make it 6-4 with 12:32 left
- Denney struck again at the 8:17 mark to put the Saints back on top by four
- Plotts answered with a goal three minutes later to make it 8-5
- Limestone scored the final two goals of the half, taking a 10-5 lead on Julia Foster's goal with three seconds left
SECOND HALF
- Plotts scored the first goal of the half six minutes in to pull the 'Dogs back within four
- A goal from Wells with 16:50 left made it 11-7
- Megan Davis found the back of the net for Limestone to make it 13-7 with 10 minutes remaining
- Knowles scored 30 seconds later to cut the lead to five
- Plotts added a goal at the 8:18 mark to make it 13-9
- Gracie DePaul scored with one second left on the shot clock to put the Saints back on top by five
- Wells scored the final goal of the night with 3:27 left off a Cifolilli assist
