Hickory, N.C.----The 19th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs advanced to their second-ever South Atlantic Conference championship game on Friday afternoon, defeating Newberry College in the conference semifinals, 15-10. Wingate improves to 15-2 overall, while Newberry's season ends at 11-8 overall.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Wingate out-shot Newberry 32-27
- Each team put 21 shots on goal
- The Wolves had 21 of the 40 turnovers on the afternoon
- The Bulldogs were 17-of-21 on clear attempts, limiting Newberry to 14-of-23 on clears
- WU held a slight 17-16 advantage in ground balls
- The Wolves won 15 of 29 draw controls
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Paige Kamer led the Bulldogs offensively with three goals and three assists
- Becca Ruiz poured in a career-high five goals with four draw controls
- Nelida Watson registered three goals and two assists
- Leah Knowles posted two goals, one assist, five draw controls and three caused turnovers
- Kayleigh Hiles assisted twice
- Bella Pellet and Kaleigh Wilgeroth each scored for the 'Dogs
- Kirsten Chalmers dished out an assist
- Megan Biase piled up 11 saves to earn the winning decision
 
NOTES
 
- The 'Dogs advance to their second SAC title game in program history and first under Coach Wiley
- Wingate last made an appearance in the title game in 2016
- The win extends the Bulldogs' record for wins in a single season
- Knowles broke the single-season record for points in a single season, now with 86
- Kendall Wells recorded 85 points in the 2018 season
- Ruiz recorded her 100th goal on Friday, becoming the fifth player in WU history to reach the milestone
- The 'Dogs have now won nine a row, dating back to a home loss to Queens in mid-March
- Biase ranked first in the conference and 11th in the country with a 9.43 goals-against-average
- Sunday's matchup will feature the top two teams in the country in assists and points per game
- The 'Dogs also rank top-10 in the country in ground balls per game, scoring margin, scoring offense, shots per game, shots on goal per game and win percentage
 
FIRST PERIOD
 
- Wingate capitalized on a man-up opportunity just after two minutes into the game, as Pellet scored to put the 'Dogs up 1-0
- The Wolves answered with their first score at the 10:14 mark
- WU scored three goals in a row in a three-minute span with a Ruiz goal separating two Kamer scores
- Newberry fought back with two more scores, cutting it to a 4-3 WU lead with three minutes to go in the period
- The 'Dogs responded with back-to-back goals from Ruiz and Watson
- Newberry's Heather Johnston scored the final goal of a busy opening 15 minutes, as Wingate led 6-4
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
- Watson opened the scoring in the second on a free-position shot
- The Wolves' Robin Hall answered with a goal five minutes later
- Wilgeroth's score gave the Bulldogs an 8-5 halftime advantage
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
- Newberry jumped out to a quick start in the second half, scoring back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to one
- Knowles' free-position score stopped the run before the Wolves added another goal with six and a half minutes to go
- Wingate stretch the lead with four unanswered goals in the final five minutes
- Two Ruiz goals, and a score apiece from Knowles and Watson turned a slim 9-8 lead to a sizable 13-8 advantage heading into the fourth
 
FOURTH PERIOD
 
- Newberry got the scoring started in the fourth period less than 90 seconds in
- Ruiz answered with her fifth goal at the 5:28 mark
- Chloe Wood added a score two minutes later
- Hiles found Kamer for the final score with 2:22 remaining
 
UP NEXT
 
- The Bulldogs aim for their first SAC Championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday, facing off with #1 Queens