BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Second-year head women's basketball coach Alex Simmons and the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs will play a 11-game non-conference slate which features six games inside Paul Porter Arena.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will begin the 2019-20 season on Tuesday, November 5 when they travel to nearby Charlotte, N.C. to take on the Charlotte 49ers. The 'Dogs and 49ers have met five times, but only twice in Gardner-Webb's Division I era. The two squads last played on March 18, 2010 in the Women's NIT with Charlotte earning a 74-60 victory.
48 hours later on Thursday, November 7, Gardner-Webb will welcome Chowan to Boiling Springs for its home opener.
After a seven-day break, the Runnin' Bulldogs will host Wofford and look to avenge a 59-53 defeat from last season. Wofford's win over GWU snapped a three-game winning streak for the Runnin' Bulldogs and evened the series at seven wins each.
The Runnin' Bulldogs last road game of November is scheduled for Friday, November 22 at Appalachian State and will be the final time that the 'Dogs travel inside the state of North Carolina for the non-conference slate. The 'Dogs and Mountaineers have met 14 times on the hardwood with the last meeting coming in the 2016-17 season.
To close out November, Simmons and the Runnin' Bulldogs will host the Western Carolina Catamounts (Wednesday, November 27) and Furman Paladins (Saturday, November 30). Gardner-Webb topped WCU on the road last season, 62-52, but fell to the Paladins in Greenville. In the school's Division I era, the 'Dogs hold a 3-2 series lead over WCU but have been victorious just once against Furman.
To begin December, Simmons will take the Runnin' Bulldogs outside North Carolina for the first time when the squad travels to battle its first of two opponents from Power Five Conferences. The 'Dogs will play the ACC's Virginia Tech Hokies on Sunday, December 8. The two teams last squared off on December 5, 2016.
On Sunday, December 15, Gardner-Webb will play inside Paul Porter Arena for the first time in over two weeks when it welcomes the Delaware Blue Hens. The meeting is just the second between the two schools with Delaware winning the inaugural matchup last season.
Prior to Christmas, the Runnin' Bulldogs will take a trip to Georgia to battle the Mercer Bears (Friday, December 20) and Georgia Bulldogs (Sunday, December 22). Gardner-Webb last played Mercer when both schools were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference and earned a 76-65 win on February 11, 2008. It will be the Runnin' Bulldogs' first game against Georgia.
To complete non-conference play, Gardner-Webb will host NCAA Division II Anderson (S.C.) on Sunday, December 29.
The Big South Conference portion of the schedule will be released in late August.
For the latest on Gardner-Webb women's basketball, follow @GWU_WBK on social media or visit gwusports.com.
