The Gardner-Webb Bench Scores 32 in the Lady Bulldogs 74-57 Win Over Texas-Pan American
November 29, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Farmville, Va. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team pushed its winning streak to six in a row on Sunday afternoon, as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Texas-Pan American 74-57 in the final day of Lancer Classic hosted by Longwood University.
With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improve to 6-1 on the season, its best start since starting last year at 5-2. The on-going six game winning streak ties the longest streak by a GWU women's basketball team in Division I history, matching a streak in 2007-08 in which Gardner-Webb one six in a row.
The win also puts GWU at 3-0 away from Paul Porter Arena, a very vital important note for the Lady Bulldogs this season, as Gardner-Webb was 6-13 last season away from Paul Porter Arena and did not win its third road contest until January 28th.
The GWU bench sparked the Lady Bulldogs early, as the group of Meranda Burnett, Brianna Dillard, Monique Hudson, Breynna Winkler and Sherika McLean came off the bench early to score the first 15 points of the game for the Lady Bulldogs.
After Texas-Pan American's Bianca Torre drained a three-pointer to give the Lady Broncos an early 3-0 lead, the bench of Gardner-Webb responded with three-pointers from Burnett and two by Dillard to pull out to 10-3 lead over the Lady Broncos.
Gardner-Webb did not look back, as the Lady Bulldogs held the Lady Broncos scoreless for a four minute stretch in the middle of the first half and held them to 26.1 percent shooting (6-of-23) from the field. Defensively, GWU forced the Lady Broncos to turn the ball over 11 times, as Texas-Pan American had five more turnovers then made field goals in the first half as Gardner-Webb took a 29-15 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, the scoring picked up immensely as the two teams combined for 87 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Texas-Pan American shot 46.7 percent in the final 20 minutes of play, yet the Lady Bulldogs remained one step ahead of the Lady Broncos, connecting on 14-of-25 to shoot 56 percent in the second half.
For every basket by the Lady Broncos, Gardner-Webb had an answer, as the Lady Bulldogs held on to a double-digit lead for most of the second half. However, a quick surge late by the Lady Broncos cut the Gardner-Webb lead to single digits at 64-55 with 2:27 to go in the contest.
With Texas-Pan American trying to extend the game with fouls down the stretch, the Lady Bulldogs were clutch at the charity stripe, as five different players made 11 free throws in the final 5:35 of the contest to help put the game away and seal the double-digit 74-57 win.
Gardner-Webb's bench outscored the Lady Broncos' bench 32-12 for the game, while the Lady Bulldogs also held a big advantage of 29-11 in points off turnovers.
For the second straight game, Epps led the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points, as all 14 points came in the second half. Dillard had a career-high 11 points, as she was a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown in the first half. Forward LaTroya Pope and Burnett had nine points apiece, while Monique Hudson had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds in 27 minutes of play.
Torre led the Lady Broncos with a game-high 23 points, with 18 of those coming in the second half. Forwards Maria Erlingsdottier and Aleeya Grigsby had 10 points apiece.
Gardner-Webb will look to continue its winning streak next Tuesday night, December 1, as the Lady Bulldogs will play host to Wofford College at 7 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena. Live stats will be available by going to www.GWUsports.com, while the game will be video streamed by the Big South Network and can be viewed by going to www.bigsouthsports.com.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 74, Texas-Pan American 57 |
