WINGATE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team felt the effect of 26 turnovers as Wingate took advantage of the Lady Braves' mistakes, scoring 17 points off of turnovers en route to a 61-39 victory on Monday night in the Cuddy Arena.

Tonight opened the 2013-14 campaign for both squads, as the Bulldogs (1-0) picked up their first win of the season. The victory helped Wingate to improve to 25-18 overall against the Lady Braves (0-1).

Despite suffering the setback, UNCP outshot Wingate from 3-point territory, as newcomers Avae' Hardy and Katelyn Mitchell both finished the night shooting 2-of-2 from downtown. Kierra Haney scored a team-best nine points on 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) from the field, while Jazmine Kemp chipped in 10 rebounds to the losing effort.

The Bulldogs were led by the sharp shooting of Janitsha Williams, who surpassed the 1,000 point mark in career after totaling 15 points on the night. Shelby Tricoli also turned in double-digit scoring for Wingate, tallying 10 points. The Bulldogs posted a 48-32 edge in the rebounding column, while also turning in 12 steals.

"We didn't play very well offensively tonight. I thought we played fairly well defensively and rebounding in the first half and that's why we were able to keep it close," said UNCP head coach John Haskins. "Then they started making shots and we just never got any better. It was really just a disappointing game for us offensively, we just didn't have a very good game. Wingate is a quality team, but we have a lot of work to do. I think we'll be able to bounce back and keep getting better."

Wingate carried a slight two-point advantage into the second half, but a 3-point bucket from Kelli Bonner, followed by a jump shot from Morgan McGee quickly put the Bulldogs up, 28-21. A triple from Hardy cut the Lady Braves' deficit to two points, 29-27, however Wingate surged to a 13-2 run to grab a 16-point lead, 45-29. The Bulldogs dominated the final eight minutes of play, as Taylor Walker helped to solidify the victory with a bucket from behind the arc with 18 seconds remaining on the clock.

UNCP scored the first points of the game on a basket from Kemp, but the Bulldogs would soon begin to take advantage of multiple turnovers by the Lady Braves. A layup from Williams with five minutes remaining in the opening half sparked the Bulldogs to score four-straight points and take their biggest lead of the second half, 20-15. Alex Tomlinson made a layup with 44 seconds left in the half, but Mitchell answered by draining a three, putting the score at 23-21 leading into the intermission.

The Lady Braves will play their first home game of the season on Thursday as they host region rival Coker (1-0) in a 6 p.m. contest inside of the English E. Jones Center. The Black and Gold will host 'Gratis Thursday' for the home opener, and all fans will be admitted free.