Staff report

WINGATE — An ankle injury sidelined Wingate standout Bryanna Troutman for three games and hobbled her in a number of others, but she’s been back on track since late January.

Troutman, who starred at Salisbury High, had 21 points and nine rebounds on Saturday to help the Bulldogs rally for a 71-61 South Atlantic Conference win against Lincoln Memorial.

Freshman Emily Hege, the former North Davidson standout, scored 23 for the Bulldogs.

It was a wild game played in front of 597 fans.

LMU battered the Bulldogs in the second quarter, led by as many as 17 and took a 38-26 halftime lead, but Wingate stormed out of the locker room and turned the game around in the third quarter.

Dealing with the injury, Troutman hasn’t been as dominant as she was last season when she was South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, but she’s still been an All-SAC level player.

Her 13.6 points per game rank eighth in the league and she’s seventh with 7.8 rebounds per game. She’s shooting 48.5 percent from the field.

Wingate (16-6, 9-4) has won five in a row since a home loss to Catawba.

Wingate is home against Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday.