Four Lady Bulldogs score in Double Figures in 81-65 Loss to No. 11 North Carolina on Sunday Afternoon
December 14, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Chapel Hill, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team had four players score in double figures, as the Lady Bulldogs had its winning streak snapped by No. 11 North Carolina 81-65 in the Dean E. Smith Center on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Lady Bulldogs fall to 8-2 overall, while the Tar
Heels improve to 8-1 with the non-conference win.
Coach Reeves' squad made a statement early in the first half, as
the Lady Bulldogs battled the nationally ranked Tar Heels to a
12-12 tie heading into the second media timeout at 11:52 mark in
the first half.
The Tar Heels responded with an 18-8 run over the next six minutes,
pulling out to a 30-20 lead with less than five minutes to play in
the half. During that stretch, the Lady Bulldogs went cold from
the floor, as six of the eight points came from the free throw
line.
After a GWU timeout and a UNC basket pushed the lead to 12, junior
guard Courtney Epps hit back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to
eight at 32-24. However, North Carolina scored the final three
points of the half to take a 35-24 lead into the halftime
intermission.
Free throws kept the Lady Bulldogs in the game in the first half, as Gardner-Webb was 10-of-10 from the charity stripe, while only 7-of-30 from the field with 20 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play.
In the second half, the Tar Heels ran out to an 18 point lead at
51-33 with a 16-9 run in the first five minutes and attempted to
put the game away early. However, the Tar Heels underestimated the
fight in the Lady Bulldogs, as Gardner-Webb answered with a 14-2
run of its own, cutting the Tar Heel lead to six at 53-47 with
10:36 to go in the contest.
The Lady Bulldogs failed to get any closer for the remainder of the
contest, as the Tar Heels used a 20-5 run to pull away late to put
the game away at 81-65.
Gardner-Webb shot a stellar 21-of-23 from the free throw line (91.3
percent) for the contest, yet was ice cold from the three-point
line, connecting on only 2-of-15 in the 40 minutes of play.
Junior guard Dominique Hudson led the offensive attack, scoring a
team-high 17 points, while dishing out seven dimes. Epps had 16
points, while senior forward Margaret Roundtree had 12 points, all
of which came in the second half. Redshirt-junior Sandra Vaitkute
had 10 points in 19 minutes of play, while redshirt-senior Sherika
McLean was huge of the bench with seven rebounds.
The starting backcourt for the Tar Heels led North Carolina, as
Cetera DeGraffenreid had 19 points and eight rebounds, while Italee
Lucas had 18 points and nine rebounds.
Gardner-Webb will return home to take on Converse College on
Friday, December 18, at 7 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena.
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| Box Score: No. 11 North Carolina 81, Gardner-Webb 65 |
