Hickory, N.C. —- The Wingate University women's basketball team fell for the first time in 2022-23, dropping a 85-81 overtime contest in their South Atlantic Conference opener on the road at Lenoir-Rhyne University Tuesday night. The Bears improve to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs drop to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in league play.

KEY STATS
- Wingate shot 52 percent from the field; LR was 41 percent from the floor
- Each team was four-for-15 (27 percent) from three-point range
- The Bears were 23-of-32 (72 percent) at the foul line; the 'Dogs were nine-for-12 (75 percent) from the charity stripe
- WU out-rebounded LR 48-30, scoring 23 second-chance points to the the Bears' 12
- The Bulldogs were called for 24 fouls compared to 11 for Lenoir-Rhyne
- Wingate suffered 32 turnovers; LR recorded 19 steals and scored 33 points off turnovers
- The Bears turned the ball over just 13 times
- WU out-scored LR in the paint 56-38
- Lenoir-Rhyne out-scored the 'Dogs 20-2 in fast break

KEY BULLDOGS
- Emily Hege poured in a career-high 20 points, making six-of-six from the foul line
- Bryanna Troutman posted 17 points and nine rebounds before fouling out of the contest
- Laura Kozo tallied 13 points, five rebounds and a game-high four blocks
- Hannah Clark added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists
- Jaia Wilson recorded six points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals

FIRST QUARTER
- Wingate scored the opening basket before the Bears rattled off the next eight points
- Emily Harman's three-pointer put LR up 14-5 at the 6:29 mark
- Troutman and Kozo scored two buckets apiece to cut the deficit to four five minutes later
- An AJ Davis layup returned the WU deficit to four, as LR led 19-15 after one quarter

SECOND QUARTER
- LR hit back-to-back jumpers to double their lead early in the second quarter
- The Bears pushed their lead to as much as nine midway through the period
- Wilson and Leah Barringer scored back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to five, but the Bears came right back to restore their nine-point lead
- Hege's pair of foul shots with four seconds left, as the 'Dogs trailed 34-27 at the break

THIRD QUARTER
- Kozo got the second-half scoring started, but an LR three and layup gave the Bears a double-digit lead less than two minutes in
- A Hege three-pointer and layup bookended an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to four points at the midway point
- The Bears responded with a three, but the 'Dogs went on another 10-2 run, as Troutman's layup with 2:29 to go gave WU a 47-46 lead
- Wingate out-scored LR 18-7 in less than six minutes
- Troutman's layup put the 'Dogs up 51-48 going into the final quarter

FOURTH QUARTER
- Back-to-back baskets capped an 8-0 personal run for Troutman, with Wingate leading 55-48 with 8:22 to go
- Four straight Bears points cut the Bulldog lead to a single possession, but WU stretched their advantage back to nine points after another Troutman layup
- LR went on a quick 7-0 run to cut their deficit to 65-63 with 4:20 to go
- A 10-0 run for the Bears gave them a six-point lead with 40 seconds left
- Clark's and-one seven seconds later cut the deficit to three
- LR made one of two free throws before a Clark layup cut the score to 74-72 with 17 seconds left
- The Bears came up with just one free throw in the next possession to extend the lead to three
- Lauren Sullivan drained the game-tying three-pointer with six seconds left
- Clark blocked the potential game-winner on the other to end to send the game to overtime 

OVERTIME
- LR scored the first four points of the overtime period
- Wingate cut the deficit to two points at two separate points after Clark and Barringer layups
- The Bears pushed their lead to five with 25 seconds left
- Kozo notched a basket with three seconds left to cut the LR lead to 84-81, but the Bears iced it with a free throw on the ensuing possession 

UP NEXT
- The Bulldogs hit the road on the other side of the Thanksgiving holiday with a tilt at Augusta on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.