Rock Hill, S.C.----The fourth-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs led by as many as 15 points Wednesday afternoon en route to a 57-54 victory over fifth-seeded Lincoln Memorial University in the South Atlantic Conference women's basketball quarterfinals. The Bulldogs improve to 20-9 overall, while the Railsplitters fall to 19-8 on the season. Wingate advance to Thursday's semifinals to face top-seeded Catawba at noon.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 42 percent from the field, going three-for-11 from three-point range (27 percent)
- LMU shot 36 percent from the field, connecting on eight-of-30 from deep (27 percent)
- Each team had 31 rebounds; the Railsplitters had an 8-5 edge in second-chance points
- The Bulldogs scored 19 points off 18 LMU turnovers
- Wingate went 16-for-21 at the free throw line; Lincoln Memorial went six-for-nine

KEY BULLDOGS

- Hannah Clark had 21 points on seven-of-14 shooting, adding four boards, an assist and a steal
- Anna Baraldi had 10 points on four-of-six shooting, knocking down both three-point attempts
- Jaia Wilson contributed nine points, six rebounds and three steals
- Laney Beale added six points, four boards, two assists and two steals
- Emily Hege had five points, five rebounds and a steal

FIRST QUARTER

- Clark's layup gave Wingate a 7-4 lead four minutes in
- A three and a jumper from Baraldi put the 'Dogs on top 14-6 at the 3:51 mark
- An Alexa Smiddy triple pulled LMU within one with 1:29 remaining
- A Clark layup and two Wilson free throws gave Wingate a 19-14 advantage

SECOND QUARTER

- Wilson's layup stretched the WU lead to seven in the opening minutes
- A Lauren Flowers triple capped a 6-0 run that pulled LMU within one at 21-20
- A Baradli three gave Wingate a four-point advantage with 4:39 to go
- A Lia Anderson layup and Wilson three-point play made it 31-22 with 38 seconds left
- Two Clark free throws in the final second gave WU a 33-22 halftime lead

THIRD QUARTER

- Buckets from Clark and Beale capped the 14-0 run that put Wingate on top 37-22 at the 8:25 mark
- A Chloe Savage triple trimmed the deficit to 10, but Clark's layup with 3:38 to go made it 43-31
- A Jordan Maney three pulled the Railsplitters back within seven
- Beale's jumper in the final minute put the 'Dogs on top 45-36

FOURTH QUARTER

- Buckets from Clark and Trinity Breedlove gave Wingate a 49-38 lead with eight minutes left
- A Flowers triple cut the lead to eight, but two Clark free throws pushed it back to double figures
- LMU used a 9-0 run over a three-minute span to cut the lead to one on a Geovana Rios layup
- Two Hege free throws gave Wingate a 53-50 cushion, but a Rios layup cut it back to one with 2:08 to go
- A Smiddy free throw at the 1:15 mark tied it at 53
- Clark answered with two free throws to give the 'Dogs a 55-53 advantage with 56 seconds left
- Smitty hit another free throw with 30 seconds remaining to cut the lead back to one
- Breedlove's free throw made it 56-54 with 17 seconds to go
- A LMU turnover gave it back to Wingate, with a Wilson free throw giving the 'Dogs a three-point lead with eight seconds left
- Smiddy's desperation three-point attempt at the buzzer was well off the mark, giving Wingate the victory

UP NEXT

- The Bulldogs are back in action Thursday, taking on Catawba in the SAC Tourney semifinals at noon
- Wingate and Catawba split the regular season series, with each team winning at home
- The winner of Thursday's contest is onto the SAC championship game Friday at 4 p.m.