WINGATE, N.C. --- Wingate University defeated Tusculum University 77-50 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball Saturday night at Cuddy Arena.
Bethel Ekperigha led a balanced attack for the Bulldogs (5-2, 1-1 SAC) with 13 points, finishing as the lone player in double figures for a Wingate offense that shot 50 percent (31-for-62) from the field. Fourteen different players scored for the Bulldogs, with eight points from Laura Montiel, seven points and six rebounds from Kyleigh Bacon and seven assists from Laney Beale.
Ema Nagyova led the Pioneers (0-6, 0-2 SAC) with a career-high 19 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range. Dora Van Rijs had four points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Pioneers, with six points and three steals from Abbi Douglas. Tusculum shot 32.8 percent (20-for-61) from the field but was 10-for-34 on three-pointers.
Tusculum did not attempt a free throw in the game, the first time that the Pioneers went without making a foul shot since Dec. 1, 2007 at Brevard (0-for-4) and the first time without an attempt as a Division II member (since 1999). Wingate shot 10-for-16 at the foul line as a team.
The Bulldogs scored the first six points before the Pioneers got on the board with a Van Rijs layup less than two minutes into the first quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers from Kylie Chavis stretched Wingate's lead to 12-4 with 7:27 left in the opening quarter, and the Bulldogs would lead by as many as 12 before a late three-pointer from Angela Gomez brought the Pioneers within 22-13 after one period.
Nagyova sank a three-pointer to open the second-quarter scoring, but Wingate would score seven in a row to build a 29-16 lead with 7:22 remaining in the first half. A layup from Douglas and a three-pointer by Maddison Neale trimmed the deficit to eight, but Wingate got the five points back to go ahead 34-21 on a Montiel layup with 4:23 left.
Wingate shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) from the field in the first half, led by six points apiece from Chavis and Maggie Shorma. The Pioneers were 12-for-31 (38.7 percent) in the half, with Van Rijs pacing the Pioneers with four points.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs outscored the Pioneers 21-7 which included runs of 8-0 and 11-0 around a three-pointer from Nagyova. Nagyova would drain three more three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and Caroline McDowell added her first career triple with 2:01 left to close the scoring for the Pioneers.
Wingate had a 42-32 rebound advantage over Tusculum, and the Bulldogs outscored the Pioneers in the paint by a 36-14 margin. Tusculum had 23 turnovers which led to 30 points for Wingate, while the Bulldogs turned the ball over 15 times. Wingate had 17 steals as a team, led by five from Beale and three from Chavis.
The Pioneers are back home to take on Carson-Newman at Pioneer Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 10 beginning at 5:30 p.m. The game is the annual Black Out game, sponsored by Meco Corporation, and all fans are encouraged to wear black to the matchup with the Eagles. Carson-Newman is 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the SAC following a 64-56 loss at 10th-ranked Coker on Saturday.
