GWU Women's Basketball Drops Season Opener at #19 North Carolina
November 12, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Chapel Hill, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball got 10 points from both Catrina Green and KiKi Smith, yet the No. 19 North Carolina Tar Heels were too much for the Runnin' Bulldogs, as GWU dropped its season opener 109-44 on Saturday afternoon in Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.
With the loss, the Runnin' Bulldogs start the season off at 0-1, while North Carolina moves to 1-0 to kick off the year.
In what was a fast-paced game from start to finish, the Runnin' Bulldogs erased an early 4-0 deficit with a 5-0 run of its own, highlighted by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jasmine Dale, to take its first lead of the game at 5-4 at the 18:57 mark of the opening half.
Gardner-Webb hung around with the Tar Heels, cutting the home team's lead to five at 20-15 on a three-pointer by freshman Eliana Scanlon with 12:37 to go in the first half.
However, that was a close as the Runnin' Bulldogs would get for the contest, as North Carolina closed out the first half with a 42-11 advantage to take a 62-26 lead at the half.
The second half was much like the end of the first, as the Runnin' Bulldogs struggled from the floor offensively, scoring only 18 points on 7-of-36 shooting (19.4 percent) over the final 20 minutes of play.
On the other side, the Tar Heels shot 40 percent from the field in the second half, outscoring GWU 47-18 offer the final 20 minutes of play in the 109-44 win.
For the game, Gardner-Webb shot 24.3 percent (18-of-74), while the Tar Heels shot 46.2 percent (36-of-78) from the floor. However, the difference came at the free throw line, as North Carolina was 31-of-42, 73.8 percent, while Gardner-Webb was only 5-of-7, 71.4 percent.
North Carolina also held a large advantage in rebounds 62-44 and in steals 22-9, as the Runnin' Bulldogs were hampered by 33 turnovers in the contest.
Green and Smith each posted 10 points apiece, while Green also hauled down a team-high eight rebounds in the loss.
Nine different Runnin' Bulldogs logged double-digit minutes in the contest, while Smith and Anna Dill, made their first career starts as Runnin' Bulldogs.
For North Carolina, four players posted double-figures in scoring, led by Chay Shegog's 19 points and 10 rebounds and Laura Broomfield's 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.
Gardner-Webb falls to 0-3 all-time versus North Carolina on the hardwood and 0-6 versus both the Atlantic Coast Conference and the top-25 nationally ranked teams.
Gardner-Webb (0-1) will tip-off its 2011-12 home slate next Tuesday night, November 15th, as the Runnin' Bulldogs host the Lady Owls of Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena.
Live stats for that contest will be available at www.gwusports.com, while the game is also slated to be carried by the WGWG 88.3 The Range and video streamed live by the Big South Network, presented by State Farm, which can be viewed by going to www.bigsouthsports.com.
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| Box Score: #19 North Carolina 109, Gardner-Webb 44 |
