Gaffney, S.C. — The Limestone University Women's Basketball team took the Wingate Bulldogs in their Golden- and Play4Kay game on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs, sitting in 2nd place in the conference standings took advantage of the Saints' cold shooting in the first half but had to see Limestone go on a run in the second half with the game being tied multiple times in the 4th quarter. A couple of trips to the foul line with under a minute to go ultimately made the difference and Wingate took the win 60-55. With this loss, the Saints drop to 13-10 (9-10 SAC), while the Bulldogs improve to 16-7 (15-4 SAC).  

Key Players:  

• Reagan Kargo (Summerfield, N.C.) got going in the 2nd half, tallying 14 of her 17 points in addition to 2 Assists. 

• Graycie Poe (Bicknell, In.) added 10 points and 3 Assists on 3 deep-balls, including one 4-point play. 

• Kalisha Hill (Saluda, S.C.) was very active on the boards, corralling 13 Rebounds to add to her 8 points. 

STORY OF THE GAME:  

First Quarter:  

• The game started rather quickly with a make by Wingate and a response by Hill, but slowed down rather quickly. 

• Wingate was out to an 8-2 lead before Kargo finally drained a triple against the Wingate zone defense. On the next possession, Graycie Poe did not hesitate from 3 and was pure despite being fouled in the process. Poe completed the 4-point play, but the next two makes went to the Bulldogs to push their lead back out to 5. 

• Megan Watson (Tampa, Fla.) responded with another successful shot behind the arc, but the last 3 buckets of the quarter belonged to Wingate, to end the 1st quarter at 19-12. 

Second Quarter:  

• The 2nd quarter vowed for even more shooting troubles for the Limestone women shooting 1-11 from 3 and under 25% from the field. Thus, Wingate was able to push their lead to as much as 11 in the beginning of the quarter. 

• Hill cut into the lead with a layup and a foul shot of her own, but costly Turnovers gave Wingate a 12-point advantage with 2 minutes to go in the half. 

• In what would end up being by far the lowest scoring quarter with only 20 points shared between both teams, Dior Shelton (Bluffton, S.C.) had the last word, with a 3 from the top of the arc. 

Third Quarter:  

• The second half posted a different picture right away. A steal by Poe and a missed bucket for the Bulldogs, set up quick 3-pointers for both Poe and Kargo, both assisting each other on the makes and forcing a quick Wingate Timeout (up 3), after which the visitors switched back to a man-defense for a while. 

• From then onward, the lead would hover between 4 and 9 for the Bulldogs, but at a much higher scoring pace than in the 1st half. Kargo added two more deep shots and Watson hit a jump shot. Wingate took a 45-38 lead into the last period, but the uptick in shooting performance promised an exciting 4th quarter for the Saints. 

Fourth Quarter:  

• Those hopes would not disappoint as Kargo with her 5th triple of the night and Shelton with her second, cut the lead to 1 point right from the get-go. 

• After the Bulldogs ensued to make two Free Throws, it was Poe who connected on a 3 to tie the game at 47, the first tie since the first minute of the game. 

• A couple of missed layups hurt Limestone during the next couple minutes and Wingate managed to move back to a 5-point lead.  

• But the Saints were not done battling back, Hill made a Foul Shot, Shelton had a layup fall and Kargo electrified the Timken Center crowd once more, with a Step-Back Jump Shot that tied the game at 52 with under two minutes of action left. 

• Limestone got the stop on the defensive end but could not convert on opportunities from 3 and under the basket on the offensive end. With exactly a minute to play Limestone was called for a foul under the basket and Wingate's Beale was perfect from the charity stripe. Trailing by 2 the Saints women had to be aggressive and found an open 3 in the corner for Shelton, but she was out of luck.  

• After another late foul call on the drive, Wingate was able to finish the game at the foul line with perfect Free-Throw shooting, despite another Watson 3, taking the game 60-55. 

Up Next:  

Limestone will stay at home to host conference-leading and #9 nationally ranked Coker University. The Saints will look to avenge a loss they took earlier in the season in Hartsville. The game against the Cobras, who are led by former Limestone Assistant coach Melissa DeVore, will tip off at 2 pm on Saturday Feb. 15th.