VIDEO | Press Conference (Hancock, Hege, Troutman)

Salisbury, N.C.----The second-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs are onto the NCAA Southeast Regional semifinals for the fifth time in the last nine years, prevailing 72-53 over seventh-seeded North Georgia in the opening round of the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs improve to 23-7 overall, advancing to take on Georgia Southwestern Friday at 5 p.m. in the regional semifinals. The Nighthawks end their season at 19-11.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 46 percent from the field; North Georgia shot 32 percent
- The Bulldogs went five-for-15 from three-point range; the Nighthawks were six-for-24 from deep
- UNG held a 42-33 rebounding advantage and 11-5 edge in second-chance points
- Wingate was 15-for-16 at the free throw line; North Georgia went seven-for-12
- The 'Dogs scored 22 points off 18 UNG turnovers

KEY BULLDOGS

- Emily Hege had 18 points, three assists and two steals
- Hannah Clark added 13 points on five-of-eight shooting from the field
- Bryanna Troutman contributed 12 points, six boards, two assists and two blocks
- Lauren Sullivan had nine points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal
- Laura Kozo added nine points, six boards and two steals
- Laney Beale had six points, three rebounds and three assists
- Jaia Wilson added five points and four boards

FIRST QUARTER

- A Niyah Lutz layup gave North Georgia a 10-7 lead midway through the first
- Wingate scored the next seven, getting four Kozo points and a Sullivan triple to go up 14-10
- Two Troutman free throws and a Beale layup made it 20-13 with 39 seconds left
- Clark added two free throw in the final seconds to put the 'Dogs on top by nine

SECOND QUARTER

- Sullivan's three a minute into the second made it 27-15
- Back-to-back Hege layups pushed the lead to 15 with six minutes remaining
- A Lutz layup pulled UNG back within 11
- Hege and Troutman answered with free throws to make it 37-22 at the 2:10 mark
- Two Caroline Martin free throws with 20 seconds left cut the lead to nine
- Clark's bucket with three seconds left gave WU a 39-28 halftime lead

THIRD QUARTER

- Troutman's layup with 4:15 to go put the Bulldogs on top by 13
- UNG scored the next eight, cutting the lead to five at 43-38 on a Dasha Cannon three
- A Hege jumper and Wilson triple pushed the lead back to 10 with two minutes left
- Beale's layup extended the lead to 11 with 20 seconds left
- Martin's free throw made it 52-42 heading to the fourth

FOURTH QUARTER

- A Lutz triple at the 8:43 mark pulled the Nighthawks within eight
- A Hege jumper and Kozo three-point play made it 59-46 with 5:53 to go
- Kaylee Sticker's triple with five minutes left cut the lead to 10
- The 'Dogs scored the next eight, getting four points each from Hege and Clark to go up by 18
- UNG got no closer than 16 the rest of the way, scoring just three points the final 4:55

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Saturday in the regional semifinals
- The 'Dogs take on Georgia Southwestern at 5 p.m. at Catawba
- The winner advances to Monday night's regional title game