Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs had four double figure scorers Friday night in their 75-65 win over visiting Francis Marion University in the 2022-23 season opener in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs improve to 1-0 on the season, while the Patriots drop to 0-1.
KEY STATS
- Wingate shot 44 percent from the field; FMU shot 36 percent
- The Patriots were seven-of-24 (29 percent) from deep, while the Bulldogs were six-for-21 (29 percent) from beyond the arc
- Francis Marion was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line; WU was seven-of-10
- The 'Dogs outscored FMU 38-30 in the paint
- WU scored 18 points off 20 Patriot turnovers; Francis Marion scored 14 points off 14 Wingate turnovers
- Each team grabbed 42 rebounds; the 'Dogs outscored the Patriots 14-12 off second chance
- Wingate had five blocks and nine steals to FMU's two blocks and six steals
- WU's bench outscored Francis Marion's 20-11
- The Bulldogs held the lead for over 39 minutes
KEY BULLDOGS
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Hannah Clark had 16 points and four steals while shooting four-for-five from deep
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Bryanna Troutman also scored 16 points, while grabbing six rebounds
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Emily Hege posted 14 points in her collegiate debut, adding eight rebounds and two steals
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Laura Kozo added 13 points in her first game as a Bulldog, while recording seven rebounds and a team-high three assists
FIRST QUARTER
- Two Clark three-pointers gave the Bulldogs an 8-2 lead after three minutes
- A quick 7-2 spurt from the Patriots brought their deficit to within a single point at the midway point of the quarter
- A trio of Kozo layups and a Hege jumper gave WU an 18-11 lead with two minutes to go in the opening quarter
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Mikayla Dyson's three-pointer put the 'Dogs up 21-13 with 1:24 to go
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Jaia Wilson sank a jumper right before the buzzer, as Wingate took a 10-point lead into the second quarter
SECOND QUARTER
- The Patriots opened the second quarter with five quick points to cut the lead in half
- Clark scored eight points in a 10-2 Bulldog run to open the lead back up to 13 at the 6:40 mark, forcing an FMU timeout
- The senior guard poured in 14 points in the game's opening 14 minutes
- Two Lauryn Taylor threes bookended a Kozo jumper, as the Patriots cut the deficit halfway through the quarter
- A pair of Hege free throws and a Clark layup in transition returned the Bulldog lead to 13 just two possessions later
- Francis Marion ended the half on an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 42-37 at the break
THIRD QUARTER
- FMU opened the scoring in the second half, as they cut the deficit to just three points
- Hege, Troutman and Wilson jumpers pushed the lead back to eight with just under six minutes to go
- Scarlett Gilmore knocked down a triple at the 4:21 mark to cut the Wingate lead back down to five
- The sides traded baskets the rest of the way, as WU took a 57-53 lead to the final quarter
FOURTH QUARTER
- A 6-0 run that carried over from the third quarter tied the game at 57 with seven and a half minutes to go
- Troutman and Hege combined to go on a 9-2 run by themselves over the next two minutes to regain the lead
- FMU and Wingate traded baskets until a Troutman three-pointer with 48 seconds to go sealed the victory, as the 'Dogs took the 75-65 lead that would become the final
UP NEXT
- Wingate turns around tomorrow night, hosting UNC Pembroke at 7 p.m. to close out the season-opening Conference Challenge
