Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs raced out to an 18-6 lead Saturday night and never looked back, cruising to a 77-50 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the SAC, while the Pioneers fall to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 50 percent from the field, going five-for-11 from three-point range (46 percent)
- Tusculum shot 33 percent from the field, connecting on 10-of-34 from deep (29 percent)
- The Bulldogs held a 42-32 rebounding advantage
- The 'Dogs scored 30 points off 23 Tusculum turnovers, piling up 17 steals
- Wingate outscored Tusculum 36-14 in the paint

KEY BULLDOGS

- Bethel Ekperigha had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals
- Laura Montiel added eight points, two boards and a steal
- Kyleigh Bacon and Michela Jones contributed seven points apiece
- Maggie Shorma, Kylie Chavis, Anasia Harvey and Chi'Nya Isaac added six points each
- Bree Hughes had five points, with Alex Merceron and Addie Long adding four points apiece
- Laney Beale had two points, seven assists and five steals

FIRST QUARTER

- Two Shorma buckets and a Beale jumper gave Wingate a 6-0 lead a minute in
- Back-to-back Chavis triples put the 'Dogs on top 12-4
- Buckets from Harvey, Hughes and Merceron made it 18-6 with 4:12 to go
- An Angela Gomez three in the final minute cut the lead to nine at 22-13

SECOND QUARTER

- An Ema Nagyova triple pulled the Pioneers within six at the 8:57 mark
- Three free throws and a layup from Bacon sparked a 7-0 run that gave Wingate a 29-16 lead
- Madison Neale's three with 6:18 to go cut the lead to eight
- Buckets from Ekperigha and Montiel stretched the lead back to 13 at 34-21
- Martina Garofalo's triple with 47 seconds trimmed the deficit to nine
- Two Ekperigha free throws gave the 'Dogs a 39-28 halftime advantage

THIRD QUARTER

- Wingate used an 8-0 run to take a 49-30 lead, getting four points from Montiel in the spurt
- An 11-0 run extended the lead to 27 in the final minute
- Isaac's triple with 55 seconds left capped the flurry, giving the Bulldogs a 60-33 lead

FOURTH QUARTER

- Isaac started the fourth quarter with a three to made it 63-35
- Aisha Patel's three with 3:50 to go cut the lead to 22
- Jumpers from Jones and Long put the 'Dogs on top 73-47 at the 2:21 mark
- Long's bucket with 51 seconds left capped the scoring on the day

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Sunday, Dec. 14, traveling to LMU for a 1 p.m. start