Bulldogs Drop Opener At Carolina First Tournament
November 16, 2007 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team's furious comeback attempt fell just short as the Bulldogs dropped a 63-59 thriller to Georgia State in the opening round of the Carolina First Tournament, which was hosted by UNC-Asheville.
The Bulldogs drop to 1-2 on the season while GSU improves to 1-1.
GWU got 14 points apiece from redshirt-sophomore Laura
Povilonyte and freshman Dominique Hudson.
Povilonyte also tallied a team-best seven rebounds as did sophomore Margaret Roundtree. Roundtree chipped in nine points while rookie Monique Hudson notched eight.
GWU struggled from behind the arc for the second consecutive game, netting just one-of-17 field goal tries from three-point land for a horrid 5.9 percent. Despite the cold shooting, turnovers did the Bulldogs in. The Panthers forced 23 turnovers, converting them into 20 points, while limiting GWU to just six points off GSU miscues. The Panthers had 22 turnovers in the contest.
For the game, the Bulldogs connected on 23-of-63 attempts from the floor, shooting at a 36.5 percent clip. GSU netted 26-of-60 shots for 43.3 percent.
After dropping behind 4-0 at the outset of the game, GWU responded by scoring the next six points for a 6-4 advantage thanks to four points by Povilonyte and two from freshman Emma Cronk.
After the teams traded points, GWU again went up by two after a three-point play by Povilonyte gave the Bulldogs an 11-9 lead. It marked the last time head coach Rick Reeves' team would be in the lead for the remainder of the game.
The Panthers went on a 13-0 run that was reminiscent of Georgetown's 17-0 spurt in the Bulldogs' last outing. However, GSU totaled 13 points in just under three minutes.
GWU fought back, slicing the deficit to eight on three occasions, but every time the squad got close, the designated home team rallied, extending the lead to double digits.
With just five seconds remaining in the half, Dominique Hudson's old-fashioned three-point play cut the margin to nine at the intermission, 32-23.
Jessica Bryant's lay-up to start the second half cut the lead to seven, but once again the Panthers extended the lead, pushing it to 12 with 18:09 to play. Dominique Hudson's shot with 12:42 remaining pulled the squad within five, but that was as close as it would get for a while.
Trailing by as many as 14 with 8:47 to play, the Bulldogs began their attack late in the game. Dominique Hudson's lay-up with 54 seconds remaining put the Panthers' lead at just four. Monique Hudson netted a short jumper with 32 to seconds to pull within three, but the comeback was incomplete as GWU missed a few crucial free throws in the closing seconds that would have made the game within reach.
GWU will look to avenge the loss tomorrow at 2 p.m., as the team
takes on UNC-A, who lost by 14 to Davidson in the second game of
the tournament.
| Box Score |
