Bulldogs Succumb To Dolphins In A-Sun Semifinals
March 07, 2008 | Women's Basketball
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team took a one-point lead midway through the second half, but the Bulldogs were unable to sustain the lead as Jacksonville had five players in double figures, downing head coach Rick Reeves's team by a 68-57 score in the Atlantic Sun Conference semifinals.
The Bulldogs stand at 13-18 on the season while the Dolphins improve to 23-8 while earning a berth in the conference finals.
Redshirt-sophomore Laura Povilonyte netted a team-high 17 points while sophomore Margaret Roundtree totaled 10 points and a team-best six rebounds. Sophomore Meranda Burnett chipped in nine while grabbing a career-high six rebounds and dishing out six assists, which ranks 10th in GWU's single-game history.
For the designated home team, Jacksonville's DaVina Hamilton poured in a game-high 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Regina Omoite had 12 points while Courtney Jackson netted 11. Both Virginia Gregoire and Ashley Williams posted 10 points apiece.
Jackson buried a long three-pointer at the 10:19 mark to give the Dolphins a 10-point advantage, 57-47, which put the game seemingly out of reach. However, the Bulldogs fought back, pulling within four with 5:38 to play on a Roundtree jumper inside the lane.
The Dolphins responded by hitting a deep three by Jackson, and
after a traveling call on Roundtree, JU's Hamilton netted a lay-up
for a 64-55 advantage.
JU continued to score while holding the Bulldogs at bay as those five quick points turned into a 9-0 run over a five minute span, holding GWU without a field goal for a stretch of time that spanned 5:33. The Bulldogs last field goal of the game came on a bucket by Monique Hudson with just five seconds to play.
GWU trailed by nine in the first period after taking a small lead. JU built a 29-20 advantage with 2:55 to go in the half before the Bulldogs quit making unforced errors and started playing smart basketball.
Down by nine, Burnett drained a runner in the lane. On the next play, she dished out an assist to Povilonyte for an easy lay-up. Povilonyte was fouled on the play and converted the charity toss for the old fashioned three-point play.
Williams ended the quick run with a short jumper, putting the Dolphins up six, 31-25. However, Roundtree netted her only two points of the first half to pull within four with 1:19 to go.
After a strong defensive stand that ended in a wild shot by Gregoire, the team got the ball back as it trickled out of bounds. Jessica Bryant missed a three-pointer with three seconds to go in the half, but Povilonyte's rebound and put-back effort drew a foul on Lynsey Paschal. With just one second to go in the half, Povilonyte drained both foul shots as GWU trailed 31-29 going into the intermission.
For the game, JU shot 45.5 percent while the Bulldogs drained 40.4 percent of their shots. GWU connected on 11-of-13 shots from the foul line while limiting the Dolphins to just three-of-six.
The difference in the game came off turnovers as GWU committed 21 to nine for JU. The Dolphins converted the mistakes into 17 points while GWU scored just six off JU's mistakes.
The Bulldogs are postseason eligible for the first-ever WNIC. However, they have to wait and see if they will receive a bid after the NCAA Tournament and WNIT bids have been distributed.
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