Harrogate, Tenn.----The Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters defeated Wingate University 66-55 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action Monday afternoon at Tex Turner Arena. LMU improves to 7-12 overall and 4-5 in the SAC. Wingate falls to 11-9 on the year and 4-5 in the SAC.

Sophomore guard Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, P.R.) led the Railsplitters with 16 points and five assists. Junior guard Carolyn Mills (Nashville, Tenn.) added 13 points, while sophomore guard Amberly O’Dell (Argos, Ind.) had 12 points. Sophomore guard Destiny Williams (Upper Marlboro, Md.) contributed 11 points, while junior center Dean Kikwiki-Mamuku (Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo) had nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds for LMU.

Sophomore guard Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) had a game-high 19 points to lead the Wingate attack, while pulling down five rebounds. Junior forward CC Brooks (Mount Holly, N.C.) added 18 points for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs struggled in the first half. They scored only 14 points and trailed by eight at halftime. The Railsplitters quickly added to the lead in the second half, going up 32-16 at the 17:11 mark on a jumper from Kikwiki-Mamuku. The lead would stay in double figures until a jumper from Washington with 6:46 remaining in the game cut the deficit to nine at 46-37.

LMU built the lead back to 15 points (52-37) on a free throw by Salaman. The Bulldogs would not go away, using a late 7-0 run to cut the lead to 60-55 with 30 seconds remaining. Brooks had four points in the spurt, while senior guard Sarah Rosser (Raleigh, N.C.) added a three pointer. The Railsplitters responded, scoring the final six points of the game by knocking down six-of-six free throw attempts.

The Railsplitters shot 40 percent from the field, while hitting six-of-17 shots from beyond the arc (35.3 percent). Lincoln Memorial also connected on 20-of-26 free throws (76.9 percent). Wingate shot 31.3 percent from the field, while hitting only two-of-13 shots from three-point range (15.4 percent). The Bulldogs converted 18 LMU turnovers into 17 points on the day. LMU held a slim 41-40 edge in rebounding.

The Bulldogs are back in action Wednesday, hosting Catawba College at 6 p.m. Lincoln Memorial will host Tusculum College Wednesday night at 6 p.m.

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)