Bulldogs Nearly Pull Off Upset Of Georgetown, Fall 72-63
November 13, 2007 | Women's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – With 13:44 remaining in the contest, the Gardner-Webb women's basketball team held a two-point advantage on BIG EAST foe Georgetown, but a drought by the Bulldogs ended their hopes of becoming the first A-Sun team to knock off a BIG EAST team, falling 72-63 in front of a crowd of 2,108.
The Bulldogs fall to 1-1 on the season while the Hoyas maintain the same record after the nine-point win.
Rookie Monique Hudson's hot shooting allowed Gardner-Webb to stay in the game early. Hudson finished with a game-high 23 points while redshirt-sophomore Laura Povilonyte notched double figures with 12.
All night long Georgetown, whose tallest player goes 6-5, was able to get the key rebound when needed. The Hoyas amassed 47 rebounds to 35 for the Bulldogs. Despite the teams shooting the same number of shots from the floor (59), Georgetown regularly got to the charity stripe. The Hoyas tallied 34 free throws on the night, connecting on 21. GWU shot just 55.6 percent from the foul line, hitting just 15-of-27.
Georgetown held the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly nine minutes of play in the second half – a stretch where the visitors went on a 17-0 run to seemingly put the game out of reach.
Although the Hoyas held a 65-48 advantage with 5:42 to play, head coach Rick Reeves' team never gave up.
Over the next 2:17, GWU went on a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to eight at 66-58. During the run rookie Emma Cronk netted two foul shots, as did Teri Higgenbottom. After a free throw by Krystle Hatton, the Hoya missed the second, but the visitors maintained possession as GWU knocked the ball out of bounds.
Kristin Heidloff made an errant pass that Monique Hudson stole and converted it into a fast break lay-up. On the drive, she was hacked by Brina Pollack. Hudson calmly went to the line and sank the free throw, pulling the Bulldogs within 11.
Sherika Montgomery grabbed a Jaleesa Butler missed field goal and 12 seconds later, all 2,108 fans were standing on their feet as Dominique Hudson drilled a three pointer.
With just under two minutes to play, Montgomery's free throw sliced the deficit to seven, giving the Bulldogs hope. She missed the second charity toss and Kieraah Marlow made a lay-up, pushing the lead back to nine. Georgetown's Krystle Hatton converted another easy bucket, putting the margin at 11 in favor of the visitors with just 54 seconds to play.
Monique Hudson again trimmed the deficit to nine, 72-63, with 25 seconds remaining on two free throws, but the Bulldogs were unable to get any closer.
GWU had its chances, but missed a couple of jump shots and free throws in the waning seconds, thus allowing Georgetown to escape with the win.
For the game, the Bulldogs shot 37.3 percent from the field while Georgetown drained 40.7 percent. After a solid game behind the arc against Montreat, GWU faltered, hitting just 4-of-23 attempts. The Hoyas weren't too much better, hitting just 27.3 percent on 3-of-11 shots.
Montgomery, who was in foul trouble in the first game, pulled down a team-best eight rebounds while Margaret Roundtree chipped in six. Dominique Hudson notched seven points, five boards and four assists.
The Bulldogs hit the road for the Carolinas First Tournament in
Ashville, N.C., this weekend. GWU takes on Georgia State Friday
night at 6 p.m., in the tournament hosted by UNC-Asheville.
| Box Score |
