Lady Bulldogs Strong Start Propels GWU Past Mountaineers for 70-58 Win
November 25, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team got off to a hot start on Tuesday night, as the Lady Bulldogs made nine of its first 12 shot attempts, including going 5-of-6 from behind the three-point arc to propel GWU past the Mountaineers for the 70-58 win.
With the win the Lady Bulldogs improve to 4-1 and push its winning
streak to four straight, while Appalachian State falls to 1-2 on
the season.
Gardner-Webb's hot start gave the Lady Bulldogs an early 33-11
lead, as the home team led from the 17:03 mark and on, holding the
Mountaineers at bay and not allowing them to get within seven
points for the rest of the game.
However, after its hot start the Lady Bulldogs went ice cold, as
GWU finished the half on 4-of-17 shooting, yet lived at the free
throw line, shooting 11-of-13 from the charity stripe to take a
42-24 lead into the halftime break.
Out of the halftime break, the Lady Bulldogs continued to struggle
shooting the ball, connecting on only 2-of-14 from the floor in the
first eight minutes out of the break, while also committing six
turnovers.
The hot start and early lead was vital for Gardner-Webb, as
Appalachian State shot 54.2 percent in the final 20 minutes of play
and cut the GWU lead to single digits for the first time since the
13:38 mark of the first half, at 46-37 with 13:12 to play in the
contest.
A jumper by Ashlen Dewart cut the lead to seven, however, the Lady
Bulldogs was able to pull back in front by 10 at 50-40 on back to
back buckets by senior forward Margaret Roundtree with 10:40
remaining in regulation.
Appalachian State was able to again cut the lead to seven at 54-47
on a Sam Ramirez lay up, but down the stretch the Lady Bulldogs
were too much, outscoring the Mountaineers 16-9 in the final eight
minutes to come away with the 70-58 win.
Roundtree led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points, while junior
forward LaTroya Pope had a season-high 14 points, with 10 of those
points coming in the second half. Redshirt-junior Sandra Vaitkute
had 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for her second
double-double of the season, while Monique Hudson poured in 11
points, including going 3-of-4 from downtown. Fellow junior guard
Dominique Hudson dished out a game-high nine assists.
Ramirez and Courtney Freeman led Appalachian State with 12 points
apiece, while Dewart scored 10 points in only 13 minutes of play
due to foul trouble.
For the game, GWU shot 40.7 percent, while Appalachian State shot
47.9 percent. However, Gardner-Webb forced Appalachian State to
commit 24 turnovers and outscored the Mountaineers 24-9 from behind
the three-point line.
The Lady Bulldogs will next compete in the Lancer Classic hosted by
Longwood University in Farmville, Va., as Gardner-Webb will take on
Morehead State on Saturday, November 28th and then turn around and
do battle with Texas-Pan American on Sunday, November 29th.
Tip-off for both games is slated for 12 p.m. eastern time.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 70, Appalachian State 58 |
