Rock Hill, S.C.----The fourth-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs are on to the SAC championship game after knocking off top-seeded and 13th-ranked Catawba College 90-77 in the semifinals of the 2024 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball tournament Thursday afternoon. Wingate improves to 21-9 overall, knocking off the regular season champs for the second time this season, while the Indians fall to 23-5 overall. The 'Dogs advance to Friday's SAC championship game to take on Carson-Newman at 4 p.m. in Rock Hill. Wingate is looking for its first SAC tournament title since the 2017 season. The Bulldogs will play in the SAC championship game for the first time since 2019.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 48 percent from the field, going five-for-15 from three-point range (33 percent)
- Catawba shot 40 percent from the field, connecting on eight-of-28 from deep (28 percent)
- The 'Dogs held a 42-38 rebounding advantage; Catawba held an 18-16 edge in second-chance points
- Wingate scored 17 points off 13 Catawba turnovers
- The Bulldogs were 27-for-35 at the free throw line while the Indians went 11-for-15
- The 'Dogs led by as many as 15 while Catawba never led by more than one

KEY BULLDOGS

- Jaia Wilson poured in a career-high 20 points on seven-of-12 shooting, going three-for-five from deep
- Wilson added nine rebounds, four assists and a steal
- Emily Hege had 17 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals on seven-of-12 shooting
- Trinity Breedlove contributed 13 points and seven rebounds
- Hannah Clark had 11 points, going nine-for-10 at the free throw line
- Laney Beale added 10 points, four boards and two assists
- Lia Anderson registered nine points and five rebounds

FIRST QUARTER

- A Beale three-point play and Anderson jumper gave the 'Dogs an early 10-4 lead
- Two Mary Spry free throws pulled the Indians within two at the 4:46 mark
- Two more Anderson buckets and a Lauren Sullivan layup gave WU an 18-10 lead
- The 'Dogs closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 25-13 lead
- Anna Baraldi buried a triple with 49 seconds left, while a Wilson layup capped the opening frame

SECOND QUARTER

- A Beale three and Hege layup put the 'Dogs on top 30-15 two minutes into the second
- Catawba used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to eight on a Nala Baker layup with 4:14 to go
- Wilson's layup a minute later gave Wingate a 36-26 advantage
- Baker's triple in the final minute cut the halftime deficit to four at 37-33

THIRD QUARTER

- A jumper and free throw from Breedlove gave the Bulldogs a 42-37 lead at the 7:34 mark
- The Indians scored the next seven, tying it at 42 on a Lyrik Thorne triple
- A Jada Porter three with 5:34 to go gave Catawba its first lead of the day at 45-44
- Hege answered with back-to-back buckets to put the 'Dogs back on top by three
- Two Spry free throws with 3:23 remaining pulled Catawba back within one
- Two more Hege buckets gave Wingate a 56-51 cushion
- Breedlove's layup with 33 seconds left made it 62-55
- Baker's three in the final seconds cut the lead to four heading to the final frame

FOURTH QUARTER

- A Sara McIntosh layup at the 7:42 mark pulled Catawba to within three at 65-62
- Wilson answered with a triple to push the lead back to six
- Baker knocked down a three with 4:42 to go, tying it at 72
- Wingate had the emphatic response, scoring the next 11 points to go on top 83-72
- Breedlove started it with two free throws, while Hege's three-point play pushed the lead to five
- Wilson's triple with 2:10 left extended the lead to nine
- Wilson capped the flurry with two free throws with 31 seconds remaining to make it 83-72
- Clark added four free throws with 12 seconds left to extend the lead to 15

UP NEXT

- Wingate will face Carson-Newman in the SAC championship game Friday at 4 p.m.
- The Bulldogs have won 10 SAC tournament championships in program history
- The most recent title came in 2017, when the 'Dogs captured their fourth championship in seven years
- Wingate and Carson-Newman met in the 2018 title game, with the Eagles prevailing 79-70
- The Bulldogs also played in the 2019 SAC championship game, falling 62-60 against Anderson
- The 2019 season was the last SAC title game appearance for the Bulldogs
- Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and $5 for students and children 
- Unlike earlier in the week, fans will have to pay to park on Friday