Salisbury, N.C.—-The 16th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs outscored the #17 Catawba College Indians 19-13 in the fourth quarter Monday night to earn a key 65-60 road victory to extend their lead in the South Atlantic Conference standings. The Bulldogs improve to 20-2 overall and 18-1 in conference play, while Catawba falls to 17-3 overall and 14-3 in the SAC.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Wingate shot 48 percent from the floor; Catawba made just 32 percent of its shot attempts
- The Bulldogs were three-of-11 (27 percent) from beyond the three-point arc, while the Catawba Indians shot nine-of-35 (26 percent) from deep
- WU converted 14 of its 19 free throw attempts (74 percent), while Catawba went three-for-six (50 percent) from the charity stripe
- The 'Dogs held a dominant 36-20 advantage in points in the paint and a significant 46-32 edge in rebounds
- Wingate held a slight 11-10 advantage in second-chance points
- The Bulldogs committed 19 turnovers, which translated into 16 Catawba points, while WU scored four points off Catawba's seven turnovers
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Haleigh Brandon had 17 points, 12 rebounds and two assists
- Bryanna Troutman contributed 17 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes
- Hannah Clark added 16 points and five boards
- Lauren Sullivan had seven points, four rebounds and three assists
 
NOTES
 
- The Bulldogs now hold a 2.5-game lead atop the SAC standings
- Wingate's second top-20 road victory of the season after taking down #19 Carson-Newman on the road on Nov. 27
- WU improves to 34-26 all-time versus Catawba
- The 'Dogs are now 14-14 in Salisbury
- First time this season three Bulldogs score 16 or more points in a game
- The win clinches the team's seventh 20-win season since 2011; first since 2018-19
- Lyrik Thorne scored 31 points on 14-of-21 shooting for Catawba
 
FIRST QUARTER
 
- Peyton Davis scored the opening bucket for Wingate
- Catawba matched with a basket of their own
- The Bulldogs scored the next 13 points unanswered
- Ilene Hurley capped the spurt with a layup to give WU the 15-2 early lead
- Catawba clawed back to get the deficit within single digits by the end of the quarter
 
SECOND QUARTER
 
- Thorne's three-pointer to begin the second quarter cut the Catawba deficit to five points
- With 6:51 left, Taisha DeShazo knocked down a triple to cap a 15-4 run, bringing the Wingate lead down to a single basket
- The 'Dogs responded with the next five points
- Sullivan's free throw gave WU a 24-17 lead with less than five minutes to go in the half
- The two sides traded baskets for the next three minutes
- After Catawba once again cut the Wingate lead to a single basket, Clark scored with two seconds left to take a four-point edge into the halftime locker room
 
THIRD QUARTER
 
- A Thorne layup 17 seconds in cut the Catawba deficit to a single point
- Troutman and Clark responded with back-to-back buckets to extend the lead to five
- Thorne's three-pointer with 6:06 left in the third quarter tied the game at 37
- Jaia Wilson answered with a jumper that was then followed by another Thorne basket
- A 6-0 Catawba run capped by a Thorne basket gave Catawba its first lead of the game at 45-43 with 1:24 remaining in the quarter
- Troutman answered with a fastbreak layup to tie the score once again
- Catawba took a one-point advantage into the final 10 minutes
 
FOURTH QUARTER
 
- Wingate's opening possession saw Troutman retake the lead for the Bulldogs with a layup
- Thorne answered with a fastbreak layup of her own as Catawba took a 49-48 lead
- Troutman answered with a quick 5-0 personal run to take a four-point lead with under eight minutes left
- Thorne's three-pointer was followed four unanswered Wingate points as Clark's jumper made the score 57-52 with 4:58 remaining
- After Thorne answered with another basket, Sullivan drilled a key triple with 1:45 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 60-54 advantage
- Brandon followed with a layup to take an eight-point lead with under a minute to go
- Thorne replied with multiple three-pointers, but free throws from Clark and Troutman prevented Catawba from retaking the lead
- Davis' steal at the buzzer capped the 'Dogs five-point road victory
 
UP NEXT
 
- The 'Dogs looks for another conference road victory on Wednesday night as they travel to Limestone for a 5:30 p.m. tip
- The Bulldogs return to Cuddy Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 16, hosting Anderson