Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs fought back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit, taking the lead late in the fourth before falling to Belmont Abbey College 62-59 for their first home loss of the season to wrap up the team's 2022 calendar year. The Crusaders improve to 7-3 overall, while the Bulldogs drop to 8-3 on the season.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Wingate shot 40 percent from the field; Belmont Abbey made 39 percent of its attempts
- The Crusaders were seven-for-18 (39 percent) from three-point range, while the Bulldogs were three-of-15 (20 percent) from deep
- WU was 12-for-15 (80 percent) at the free throw line; BAC made nine of its 13 attempts at the charity stripe
- The Crusaders out-rebounded Wingate 37-33, but were outscored 8-4 in second-chance points
- WU had 18 assists to 16 turnovers, as the Crusaders scored 19 points off of turnovers
- The Bulldogs forced BAC into committing 17 turnovers and scored 23 points off of them
- Wingate dominated the paint, outscoring the Crusaders 34-16
- Belmont Abbey took advantage in transition with 14 fast-break points to the Bulldogs' two
- BAC's bench outscored WU's 27-10
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- AJ Davis posted a career-high 21 points off nine-of-12 shooting along with 10 boards and three blocks
- Lauren Sullivan recorded 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists
- Hannah Clark chipped in seven points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals
- Emily Hege added six points off the bench
 
FIRST QUARTER
 
- Wingate sprinted out to a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes behind back-to-back Davis buckets and a Jaia Wilson layup
- A Sullivan three-pointer pushed the Bulldog lead to 9-2 at the seven-minute mark
- The Crusaders rattled off six unanswered points of their own to come within a single point
- Another five-point spurt capped by a three from Catherine Hendershott gave BAC the lead at 13-11
- The two traded the lead for the remainder of the quarter, as the Crusaders led 20-19 after 10 minutes
 
SECOND QUARTER
 
- Clark's three-pointer opened the scoring in the second quarter, as WU led 22-20 at the 8:18 mark
- BAC took advantage of the game behind an 11-0 run over five minutes in the second quarter, as Hendershott's free throw put the visitors up 34-26 with 2:20 to go in the first half
- The Bulldogs chipped the deficit down to four, before a final free throw gave Belmont Abbey a 35-30 halftime lead
 
THIRD QUARTER
 
- Back-to-back baskets from Wilson and Laney Beale cut the Bulldog deficit to a single possession at the 6:46 mark in the third
- Belmont Abbey responded with a 9-0 run in less than two minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 12
- Wingate scored eight of 10 points throughout the rest of the quarter, as Hege's jumper cut the BAC lead to just 50-44 heading into the final 10 minutes
 
FOURTH QUARTER
 
- Wingate scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, capping a 12-0 run dating back to the end of the third quarter; Hege's pair of free throws gave the Bulldogs a 52-50 lead
- Cate Schieber's three-pointer took the lead back until Sullivan answered with a triple of her own to retake the lead at 54-53
- A Crusader three caused the lead to change hands once again, but Sullivan responded once again with an and-one to give the 'Dogs the one-point lead halfway through the quarter
- BAC broke the back-and-forth trend with back-to-back scores with four minutes to go, taking a three-point lead
- Crusader free throws gave the visitors a 62-59 lead with 21 seconds remaining
- Hege's potential game-tying three missed the mark, but the Bulldogs forced a turnover on the ensuing inbound with four seconds left
- Clark's shot to send the game to overtime bounced off the rim, however, sending Wingate to its first loss in Cuddy Arena this season
 
UP NEXT
 
- The Bulldogs look to bounce back in the new year, returning to SAC action with a matchup with Coker on Monday at 2 p.m.