Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs trailed by 17 points in the first half Saturday afternoon, but outscored Lincoln Memorial University 45-23 in the second half en route to a 71-61 victory in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate wins its fifth straight, improve to 16-6 overall and 9-4 in the SAC, while the Railsplitters fall to 13-9 overall and 6-7 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 39 percent from the field; LMU shot 43 percent
- The 'Dogs hit five-of-12 threes; the Railsplitters went 11-for-23 from deep
- The Bulldogs held a 39-29 rebounding advantage and 13-4 edge in second-chance points
- Wingate scored 17 points off 12 Lincoln Memorial turnovers
- The 'Dogs shot 50 percent from the field in the second half; LMU shot 29 percent in the final 20 minutes
- The Railsplitters led by 17 with 1:09 left in the first half; WU led by 16 with 3:15 left in the game

KEY BULLDOGS

- Emily Hege had 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals
- Bryanna Troutman had 21 points, nine rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist
- Hannah Clark added 13 points, five boards and two steals
- Laney Beale contributed eight points, five rebounds and two assists
- Lauren Sullivan had three points, five boards, a steal and an assist

FIRST QUARTER

- A Clark three gave the 'Dogs an early three-point advantage
- WU used a 9-0 run, getting threes from Hege and Beale to take an 18-10 lead at the 4:34 mark
- A Saquita Joyner layup with 1:49 left cut the lead to four heading to the second quarter

SECOND QUARTER

- LMU outscored Wingate 24-8 in the frame
- Troutman's three-point play gave the 'Dogs a 21-17 lead with 9:23 to go
- The 'Dogs didn't score again until the final minute of the frame
- The Railsplitters went on a 21-0 run to take a 38-21 lead on Joyner's layup with 1:09 to go
- Two Hege free throws and a Hege three-point play gave WU five unanswered to end the quarter
- The Bulldogs trailed 38-26 at halftime

THIRD QUARTER

- Joyner's jumper in the opening minute stretched the LMU lead back to 14
- Wingate scored the next 15 points to take the lead
- Troutman had seven points in the spurt, with Hege and Beale each adding a triple
- It was Troutman's layup at the 3:38 mark that gave the 'Dogs a 41-40 advantage
- Alexa Smiddy buried a three to put LMU back on top by two
- A Lauren Flowers triple with 1:49 to go gave the Railsplitters a 46-43 lead
- Wingate scored the final six points of the quarter to regain the lead
- Buckets from Beale and Hege put the 'Dogs on top; Hege's jumper with nine seconds left made it 49-46

FOURTH QUARTER

- Clark's jumper in the opening minute gave the Bulldogs a five-point lead
- Smiddy cut it back to three with a pair of free throws
- Wingate went on a 13-0 run to push the lead to 16
- Troutman had six points in the flurry, including the three-point play that made it 64-48 with 3:15 left
- A Flowers three with a minute left cut the lead to nine
- Clark answered with a pair of free throws
- The lead remained in double figures the rest of the way

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Wednesday, hosting Lenoir-Rhyne at 5:30 p.m.