Jan. 8, 2008

Final Stats

Story Courtesy of David Sherwood, Wingate Sports Information

The Wingate University women's basketball team sprinted to a 25-4 lead and never looked back, topping the visiting Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith 86-45 Monday night in Cuddy Arena. With the victory, Wingate improves to 8-5 overall. The Golden Bulls fall to 8-4 overall. JCSU edged Wingate 71-69 in a November overtime thriller.

Wingate started the game on a 14-2 run in the first three minutes. Atkinson had a lay-up and four assists in the opening stretch while Edwards nailed a pair of threes. After JCSU senior guard Ashley Chase (Baltimore, Md.) hit a pair of free throws, the Bulldogs reeled off 11 straight points to build the lead 25-4 with 13:35 remaining in the half. Wingate junior guard Brittany West had five points in the run.

Johnson C. Smith would get the lead down to 16 points (35-19) at the 4:21 mark on an Amber Stoney jumper. The Bulldogs would close the half on a 16-4 run, capped by a lay-up from freshman guard CC Brooks with four seconds left.

Wingate shot 57.1 percent (20-of-35) in the first half, hitting six-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Golden Bulls shot 20 percent (7-35) in the opening frame, hitting one-of-four three pointers. The Bulldogs had 16 first half assists on 20 made baskets, including nine from Atkinson.

The second half started much the way the first half did, as the Bulldogs scored 12 of the first 14 points. Atkinson hit a pair of threes in the opening run that stretched the lead to 63-26. The lead would never get below 35. Wingate's largest lead was 86-44 at the 1:20 mark on a three-point field goal from freshman guard Lauren Beeson.

Wingate shot 54.8 percent for the game (34-of-62); the Bulldogs converted 10-of-20 shots from three point range. Johnson C. Smith shot 22.9 percent on the evening (16-of-70), hitting one-of-nine shots from three-point land. The Bulldogs converted 25 JCSU turnovers into 34 points. The hosts also held a 21-2 edge in fast break points.

The Golden Bulls held a 48-39 rebounding advantage, including a 24-5 edge in offensive rebounds. The SAC leader in steals, Wingate racked up 16 thefts in the game. Bulldog senior guard Kasey Gillis topped the charts with four steals.

Johnson C. Smith came into the game allowing its opponents to score only 56.6 points per game. The 86 points scored by Wingate is the most the Golden Bulls have allowed during the 2007-08 season.

Senior guard Kate Edwards led the way with 16 points for the Bulldogs. Junior guard Anna Atkinson had 11 points and 11 assists in only 19 minutes of action. Erica Crumlin had four points, six rebounds and a career-high eight blocked shots. In all, 12 Bulldogs scored; 11 different players had at least four points for Wingate.

JCSU freshman forward Ashley Young-Jones (Asheville, N.C.) led the Golden Bulls with nine points. Young-Jones pulled down seven rebounds. Senior forward Amber Stoney (Orlando, Fla.) also had nine points for Johnson C. Smith. Senior guard Shemika Jones (Largo, Md.) had seven points and a game-high eight rebounds. JCSU was playing without their leading scorer (Kyria Buford) and leading rebounder (Rochelle Bodie).

The next contest for Johnson C. Smith is a CIAA game at Fayetteville State University Saturday, January 12 at 5:30 p.m.