GWU's Huge Second Half Comes Up Short, as Runnin' Bulldogs Fall at Lipscomb, 76-65
December 18, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Nashville, Tenn. - In what was a tale of two halves on Sunday afternoon, the Runnin' Bulldogs attempted to overcome a low scoring first-half with 52 points in the second half, only to see their efforts fall just short in a 76-65 non-conference loss to the Lipscomb Lady Bisons at the Allen Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
The loss for GWU ties the overall series at 7-7 against Lipscomb since 2000-01.
Despite another slow start, as the Runnin' Bulldogs first made field goal did not come until the 12:12 mark of the first half on a shot by freshman guard KiKi Smith, the GWU defense and Lipscomb's cold shooting kept the Runnin' Bulldogs in the game, as GWU trailed by three at 8-5 with 11:49 to play in the opening half.
Gardner-Webb's offensive struggles continued throughout the first half of play, as the Runnin' Bulldogs were only 4-of-24, 16.7 percent, overall from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play, as Lipscomb took advantage of early foul trouble to GWU starters Brianna Dillard and Catrina Green and 12 turnovers to take a 29-13 halftime lead.
Senior center Breynna Winkler had four points off the bench, as her, Eliana Scanlon and Smith contributed eight points off the bench for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the first half, as GWU held an 8-4 advantage in bench points over the Lady Bisons at the break.
The Lady Bisons used a borage of three-point baskets to start the second half, draining four three-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half to push their lead to 23 at 45-22 with 15:21 to play in the contest.
The offensive pace picked up on both ends of the floor after the halftime break, as the Lady Bison's 28 points and the Runnin' Bulldogs 20 points over the first 8:30 of the second half, surpassed each of their totals in the entire first 20 minutes of play.
After an 8-3 run capped off by a layup by Green cut the Lady Bisons' lead to 58-37, a Gardner-Webb foul and technical foul allowed Lipscomb to add to their lead with four straight made free throws to push score out to 62-37 with 10:16 to play in the contest.
Over the rest of the contest, the Runnin' Bulldogs attempted to cut into the Lipscomb lead only to have the Lady Bisons' answer with an offensive run of their own, keeping Gardner-Webb out of reach despite a strong second half.
Green led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a career-high 19 points, with 18 coming in the second half, and 10 rebounds, while Dale added 10 points.
For Lipscomb, guard Anna Bowers led the way with 17 points, while Hannah Phillips had 14 points and seven rebounds in the win.
The Runnin' Bulldogs, which shot 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the floor in the second half, shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) overall for the contest en route to their largest scoring output of the season with 65 points.
Gardner-Webb (0-9) will return to the court for competition after the Christmas Holiday, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will stay on the road to take on North Carolina Central at 6 p.m. on December 28th in Durham, N.C.
Lipscomb (3-10) will have a long break before their next contest, as the Lady Bisons will return to Allen Arena to host Jacksonville at 4 p.m. on January 2nd.
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| Box Score: Lipscomb 76, Gardner-Webb 65 |
