Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded and 15th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs led by as many as nine Wednesday evening en route to an 18-14 victory over fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse tournament. The 'Dogs win their 14th straight game, improving to 17-1 overall, while the Bears fall to 11-8 on the season. Wingate will face Limestone in the SAC championship game Saturday in Matthews, N.C.

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-shot Lenoir-Rhyne 32-30
- The Bulldogs held a 27-25 advantage in shots on goal
- The 'Dogs won 20 of the 36 draw controls; each team had 22 ground balls
- Wingate was 16-for-18 on clear attempts; the Bears were 13-for-24
- LR turned it over 22 times; the Bulldogs had 21 turnovers

KEY BULLDOGS

- Kaleigh Wilgeroth had six goals and two assists to lead the attack
- Danielle Scarfogliero added three goals and three assists
- Nelida Watson poured in four goals, adding an assist
- Julia Garvin contributed a goal and three assists
- Bree Solero scored a pair of goals
- Evelynn Buckmaster added a goal
- Megan Millard notched a goal, five ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers
- Meghan Higgins handed out an assist
- Sophie Pavlick collected eight draw controls
- Kathryn McCabe had five draw controls, four CTs and four ground balls
- Katie Field added a pair of caused turnovers
- Krysta Churns added a CT and two ground balls
- Riley Boone notched 11 saves on the day

FIRST QUARTER

- Wilgeroth started the scoring two and a half minutes in off a Watson assist
- Millard scored off a Garvin assist a minute later
- Wilgeroth's goal at the 4:22 mark off another Garvin assist made it 3-0
- Solero capped the scoring in the frame with a goal with 2:54 to go

SECOND QUARTER

- LR scored twice in the first 90 seconds, cutting the lead to two on an Ellie Campbell goal
- Scarfogliero scored twice in a 40-second span off assists from Wilgeroth and Higgins to make it 6-2
- The Bears scored the next three, cutting the lead to one on a Kirra Olson goal at the 6:10 mark
- Watson scored 26 seconds later off a Scarfogliero assist
- Wilgeroth's goal 28 seconds later off a Garvin assist made it 8-5
- Watson's goal off a Scarfogliero assist pushed the lead to four
- Garvin scored off Scarfogliero's assist put the 'Dogs on top 10-5
- Wilgeroth's goal with 2:21 to go capped the 5-0 run to give WU a six-goal lead
- Chloe Christensen scored at the 1:25 mark to cut the lead to five
- Watson scored 30 seconds before halftime to give the Bulldogs a 12-6 advantage

THIRD QUARTER

- Wilgeroth started the scoring four minutes into the half to stretch the lead to seven
- Scarfogliero's goal at the 8:44 mark put the 'Dogs on top 14-6
- Watson scored off a Wilgeroth assist 25 seconds later to extend the lead to nine
- Hannah Thomas scored 30 seconds later to make it 15-7
- Solero answered with a goal to push the lead back to nine
- Anneleise Meyer made it an eight-goal game at the 5:52 mark
- Wilgeroth's goal at the 3:45 mark made it 17-8
- LR scored twice in the final two minutes, cutting the lead to seven on a Meyer goal

FOURTH QUARTER

- Olson's goal five minutes in made it 17-11
- Christensen cut the lead to five at the 8:33 mark
- Walker scored 32 seconds later to make it a four-goal game
- Buckmaster answered with a goal to give Wingate an 18-13 advantage
- Olson's goal with 2:24 left capped the scoring

UP NEXT

- Wingate will take on Limestone in Saturday's championship game at 1 p.m.
- The Bulldogs and Saints will play at the Matthews SportsPlex at 1 p.m.