JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - After trailing for most of the evening, junior Amber Skidgel hit a three pointer as time expired to give the No. 16 University of North Georgia women's basketball team a 78-75 win over No. 20 Wingate in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional semifinals Saturday at Carson-Newman's Holt Fieldhouse.

"It wasn't exactly how we drew it up," said Skidgel of the final play. "My teammates just got me the ball and I got the shot off just in time. Luckily, it went in and we are going to the Sweet 16."

The Bulldogs scored 10 of the first 14 points to take an early lead in the contest, but the Nighthawks kept the game in check, never trailing by more than 10 at any point in the first half. A 10-4 run by the Nighthawks, powered by four Vanessa Agrusa points, got the Nighthawks back to even as the game hit halftime.

After a back-and-forth third quarter, the Nighthawks gained a little bit of momentum late in the fourth quarter, going on a 6-0 run to take a four-point lead with just 30 seconds to play. Wingate tied the game up with 17 seconds left before Skidgel hit the 30-footer to win the game.

NOTES
- Agrusa led the Nighthawks for the fifth time this season, scoring a career high 20 points. Skidgel and Julie McKie each added 17 for the Nighthawks. Every UNG player that saw action scored in the game.

- Against the 6-4 SAC Co-Player of the Year, Marta Miscenko, the Nighthawks scored 32 points in the paint and outrebounded the Bulldogs, 32-26.

- North Georgia never led by more than four points in the game.

- This is the farthest the women's basketball program has advanced in an NCAA Tournament in program history. The Nighthawks fell in the regional semifinals four years ago after a three-pointer fell short as time expired against Armstrong in a 72-70 loss.

NEXT UP
North Georgia will play the winner of the Carson-Newman vs. Lander matchup at 7 p.m. on Monday night in Jefferson City for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.