Runnin' Bulldogs Use Team Effort to Push No. 10 Oklahoma to the End in 84-75 Loss
November 27, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Norman, Oklahoma - Gardner-Webb senior Dominique Hudson tied her career-high with 25 points, while sophomore Brianna Dillard poured in a career-high 19 points to help lead the Runnin' Bulldogs in its 84-75 loss to No. 10 Oklahoma at the BTI Tip-Off Classic in Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon.
Gardner-Webb battled the nationally ranked Sooners for all 40 minutes of play in Lloyd Noble Arena; however, the difference in the contest was at the free throw line as the Sooners were 27-of-34 from the charity stripe compared to the Runnin' Bulldogs 11-of-15 for the game.
The Sooners hit a three-pointer of the opening tip-off to start the game, yet the score did not diminish the Runnin' Bulldogs confidence, as the Gardner-Webb's Dominique Hudson scored on GWU's first offensive possession to get the visitors on the board.
Gardner-Webb kept close to the No. 10 nationally ranked Sooners for most of the first 20 minutes of play, including erasing a 14 point deficit midway through the opening frame to cut the lead to as close as six with 2:29 to go before surrendering an easy fast break layup right before the end of the half to give the Sooners a 36-27 halftime lead.
The difference in the first half come from the charity stripe, as the Sooners were 14-of-17 from the free throw line on 12 Gardner-Webb fouls, while the Runnin' Bulldogs were 4-of-5 on only six Oklahoma fouls.
Gardner-Webb not only shot well from the floor in the opening half, knocking down 11-of-24 shot attempts (45.8 percent), led by Dominique Hudson's 13 points, but the Runnin' Bulldogs did it on the defensive end as well, holding the Sooners to 32.3 percent shooting and 2-of-11 from behind the three-point line.
Out of the halftime intermission, the Runnin' Bulldogs refused to go away, as an old-fashion three-point play by Dominique Hudson cut the Sooners' lead to four at 36-32 with 19:01 to go in regulation.
Foul trouble again began to haunt the Runnin' Bulldogs in the early goings of the second half, as the Sooners took advantage from the free throw line, making seven free throws over the next several minutes to pull out to at 50-38 lead with 13:31 to play.
A long jumper from freshman Kendra Brown at the 12:13 mark cut the Oklahoma lead to 10 at 53-43, but that was as close as the Runnin' Bulldogs would get for the remainder of the contest as the foul trouble and depth of the Sooners proved to be too much for GWU.
Despite the odds, Gardner-Webb used a 17 point spurt to cut the Oklahoma lead to eight at 83-75 with just under a minute left in the game before the final horn sounded with the Sooners in front 84-75.
Gardner-Webb center Sandra Vaitkute fouled out with 10:32 in the second half, while Monique Hudson fouled out with 52.3 seconds left in the game after playing 17 minutes with four fouls in the second half.
Besides the difference at the free throw line, the Runnin' Bulldogs held its own for most of the contest, outscoring Oklahoma 30-22 in points in the paint and 10-4 in fast break points.
Outside of Dominique Hudson's game-high 25 and Dillard's 19, Monique Hudson added 10 points and six assists, while Brown had a career-high seven points. In her first career start, freshman center Catrina Green hauled in a team-high six rebounds in 19 minutes of play, battling the bigs of Oklahoma down low for every loose ball.
Oklahoma had three-players finish in double-digit points with Danielle Robinson scoring 18, Aaryn Ellenberg adding 15 and center Joanna McFarland contributing 14 points.
The three-game losing streak is the longest losing streak for the Runnin' Bulldogs since dropping four straight conference games midway through the 2008-09 season.
Gardner-Webb (2-3) will wrap up its BTI Tip-Off Classic tournament with its third game in as many days tomorrow afternoon versus Texas-Pan American at 2 p.m. central time in Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
No. 10 Oklahoma (5-0) will take on Prairie View tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. central time to wrap up the BTI Tip-Off Classic.
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| Box Score: No. 10 Oklahoma 84, Gardner-Webb 75 |
