Wingate Secures Women’s Basketball Regular Season Title, SAC Championship No. 1 Seed

February 25, 2012

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Wingate defeated Brevard on Saturday and has won the race for the SAC women's basketball regular season title that started the day with four teams still in contention. The Bulldogs will also be the No. 1 seed in next week's Food Lion SAC Basketball Championship.

Wingate took care of Brevard, 58-50, clinching the outright conference title after Catawba fell at Newberry 66-60 to finish one game back of the Bulldogs in the league standings.

The SAC title is Wingate's 11th, the most in SAC history. The Bulldogs will face eighth-seeded Anderson on Wednesday in the SAC Basketball Championship quarterfinals.

Despite Saturday's loss, Catawba will be the Championship's No. 2 seed after finishing 12-6 in league play. The Indians will host a quarterfinal game against No. 7 seed Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.

Mars Hill defeated Tusculum 75-71 and LMU toppled Lenoir-Rhyne 71-64 on Saturday to force a tie for third place in the SAC standings between the Pioneers and Bears at 11-7. Tusculum wins the tiebreaker for the SAC Championship's No. 3 seed because of its 2-0 record against L-R, and will face sixth-seeded Newberry in Wednesday's quarterfinals.

With Newberry's win over Catawba and Carson-Newman's 57-48 triumph over Anderson, the Wolves and Eagles finished tied for fifth with identical 10-8 SAC records, including a head-to-head split. Carson-Newman, however, earns the SAC Championship's No. 5 seed by virtue of having a better record against top-seeded Wingate.

The Eagles will travel to fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne in Wednesday's quarterfinal round.

The four winners from Wednesday's quarterfinals will travel to Hickory, N.C. next Saturday, March 3, for the SAC Championship semifinals. The first women's game is slated to tip off at 5:30 p.m. at the Tarlton Complex on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C.

Wednesday, February 29
Food Lion SAC Tournament, Quarterfinals, Home of Higher Seed
No. 8 Anderson at No. 1 Wingate, 6 pm
No. 7 Lincoln Memorial at No. 2 Catawba, 7 pm
No. 6 Newberry at No. 3 Tusculum, 7 pm
No. 5 Carson-Newman at No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne, 7 pm

Saturday, March 3
Food Lion SAC Tournament, Semifinals, Tarlton Complex, Hickory, N.C.
Anderson/Wingate winner vs. Carson-Newman/Lenoir-Rhyne winner, 5:30 pm
Lincoln Memorial/Catawba winner vs. Newberry/Tusculum winner, 8:00 pm

Sunday, March 4
Food Lion SAC Tournament Championship, Tarlton Complex, Hickory, N.C.
Semifinal winners, 4:30 pm