Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs never trailed and led by as many as 23 points Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 92-69 victory over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 11-4 overall and 6-1 in the SAC, winning its fourth straight contest. The Lions fall to 6-10 overall and 1-7 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 52 percent from the field, going 10-for-18 from three-point range (56 percent)
- Mars Hill shot 44 percent from the field, connecting on eight-of-20 from deep (40 percent)
- The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Lions 42-28 with a 16-3 advantage in second-chance points
- The 'Dogs piled up seven steals and six blocked shots on the night
- Wingate had 20 assists on 33 made field goals
- The Bulldogs scored 14 points off 13 MHU turnovers
- WU scored at least 20 points in all four quarters, shooting over 50 percent in three frames
- Wingate season highs for points, field goals, field goal percentage and blocked shots

KEY BULLDOGS

- Emily Hege had 24 points, six assists and five rebounds, going 10-for-16 from the field and three-for-five from deep
- She has scored 99 points her last four games, averaging 24.8 points per game on 60 percent shooting
- Hannah Clark had 17 points and five assists, knocking down four-of-six triples
- Jaia Wilson added season highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds, going five-for-eight from the field
- Laney Beale contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals
- Trinity Breedlove had 10 points, seven boards and two blocks
- Lia Anderson added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks

FIRST QUARTER

- Threes from Clark and Hege, along with a Hege jumper gave the 'Dogs an early 8-2 lead
- A Naja Ngongba three-point play cut the lead to two
- WU scored the next eight, getting buckets from Hege, Wilson, Beale and Anderson to go up 16-6
- Wilson's three-point play made it 21-9 with three minutes to go
- Breedlove knocked down two free throws to make it 23-11
- A Jaquoria Rucker bucket in the final seconds cut the lead to 10

SECOND QUARTER

- A Maddie Gillie layup pulled the Lions within seven at 25-18 at the 8:23 mark
- A Breedlove jumper and Hege triple pushed the lead back to 12
- A Breedlove layup and Anna Baraldi triple put the 'Dogs on top 38-24 with 4:39 remaining
- Ngongba's bucket cut it back to 12 at the 2:10 mark
- Wingate scored the final seven points of the frame, starting with a Clark triple with 1:21 to go
- Two Anderson free throws and a Clark layup gave Wingate a 47-28 halftime advantage

THIRD QUARTER

- A Tateyoina Harris layup cut the lead to 16, but Beale's jumper made it 55-37 at the 5:54 mark
- Ngongba's layup with 3:39 remaining pulled the Lions within 12
- Anderson and Beale answered with bucket to make it 59-43
- A Hege three-point play and Wilson layup stretched the lead back to 19
- Two Anderson free throws with 33 seconds left made it 67-46
- An Elyseia Brown layup in the final seconds cut the lead back to 19

FOURTH QUARTER

- A Breedlove jumper a minute in gave the 'Dogs a 70-48 advantage
- Gillie's layup at the 6:51 mark made it 74-59
- Two Beale free throws pushed the lead back to 17
- A layup and triple from Gillie cut the lead to 10 at 76-66 with 3:29 remaining
- Threes from Clark and Wilson sparked an 8-0 run that made it 84-66 at the 2:17 mark
- Clark's layup in the final minute pushed the lead back to 20
- Hege's triple in the final seconds made the final margin 92-69

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Wednesday, traveling to Anderson for a 5:30 p.m. start
- The Bulldogs return home Saturday to host Carson-Newman at 2 p.m.