WINGATE, N.C. – The LMU women's basketball team fought 21st-ranked Wingate hard through three and a half quarters, but a late shooting drought enabled the host Bulldogs to pull out the 70-59 South Atlantic Conference win Saturday afternoon.

LMU (13-10, 9-8 SAC) entered the fourth quarter with a 44-43 lead, but Wingate (19-3, 13-2 SAC) opened up the final stanza with an 8-1 spurt. LMU called timeout and on the next possession Cameryn DuBose gathered up a missed three-pointer from Shea Coker and put it back in, cutting the lead to 51-47. Wingate then went inside to Marta Miscenko, who scored the next eight points of a 10-0 Bulldog run that put WU ahead 61-46 with 3:18 remaining. LMU would out-score the Bulldogs 12-9 down the stretch, but were unable to make up lost ground.

The Lady Railsplitters and Wingate went back and forth in the first quarter, with four ties and four lead changes. WU pulled out to an early 6-2 lead, only to see LMU battle back to tie it at 8-8. The Lady Railsplitters then went ahead 11-8 on a jumper and free throw from Emily Griffith. The teams swapped baskets for the remainder of the quarter before another Emily Griffith basket gave LMU the 16-14 lead at the end of the stanza.

LMU carried that momentum and went out to a 24-16 lead to open the second quarter. They held the five to eight point lead through most of the quarter before Caroline Averette and Danasia Witherspoon combined for a 7-0 run over the last 1:12 to give the Bulldogs the 30-28 lead at the half.

Wingate opened the second half with a 6-0 run, but a Shea Coker three-pointer sparked a LMU run that tied the game at 36-36. The game was tied again at 40-40 before baskets from Emily Griffith and Dubose put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 44-40 with 1:24 remaining. The Bulldogs then hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 44-43 heading into the final period.

Emily Griffith led LMU with 17 points. Cameryn DuBose had a career night as she had her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, both also career highs. Shea Coker chipped in 11 points while Rachel Griffith led the team with six assists and four steals.

Miscenko had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Wingate. Averette scored 13 points and Witherspoon chipped in 12.

For the game, LMU went 38.1 percent from the field, 30.4 percent from three-point range and 50 percent from the free throw line. Wingate hit 43.1 percent of their shots, went 40.0 percent from three-point range and 78.3 percent from the charity stripe. Wingate out-rebounded LMU 41-32 and led them in points in the paint 38-22. LMU had a 38-9 advantage in bench points.

Quick Hits
- LMU falls to 9-18 vs. Wingate all-time and they are now 3-10 in Cuddy Arena.

-  The double-double by Dubose was the first by any LMU women's player this season.

Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters will step out of conference for the final time in the regular season as they host Tennessee Wesleyan Tuesday evening. This will be the first time the two teams have met since the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference Tournament Championship on Feb. 27, 1990 in the Mary Mars Gym. TWU comes into the contest with a 17-9 record after defeating Bluefield College 77-61 earlier today.