GWU's Defense Comes Up Big in 56-45 Win Over N.C. Central on Wednesday Night
December 29, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Durham, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team held the Lady Eagles of North Carolina Central scoreless over a 10 minute stretch in the second half, en route to a 56-45 road win in Durham, N.C. on Wednesday night.
The win is GWU's first of the season and ends their losing streak at nine games. The loss drops NCCU to 2-11 on the year overall.
Again the Runnin' Bulldogs got off to a slow start, as after a Jessica Heilig turn-around jumper from the right wing started the scoring off to put the visitors up 2-0 early, the Lady Eagles of NCCU went on a 12-2 run, shooting 5-of-6 overall from the floor, to take a 12-4 lead over Gardner-Webb with 15:17 minutes to play in the first half.
Over the next four minutes of play, the Runnin' Bulldogs found their offensive stride, using the inside game by sophomore center Catrina Green and a three-pointer by fellow sophomore guard Jasmine Dale, to use a 9-2 run and cut the Lady Eagles lead to one at 14-13 with 11:28 remaining in the first half.
A rebound and put back in front of the rim by junior forward Cierra Harris at the 3:53 mark of the first half gave the Runnin' Bulldogs their largest lead to that point of the contest at 25-22.
GWU finished off the opening half with a 6-4 run, highlighted by a jump shot by Dale in the closing seconds, to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a 31-26 lead heading into the halftime break.
The five-point halftime lead is GWU's first of the season, as the Runnin' Bulldogs shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the floor and outscored NCCU 18-6 in points in the paint and 9-3 in second chance points over the first 20 minutes of play.
Both the Runnin' Bulldogs and the Lady Eagles came out looking to set the pace in the second half play, as NCCU held a slight 8-7 scoring edge over GWU in the first five minutes of play to put the score at 38-34 in favor of the Runnin' Bulldogs with 15:54 to go in the contest.
Over the next four minutes of play both teams struggled to take care of the ball and score points, as the two teams' combined for five points during that span with the Runnin' Bulldogs holding on to a slight five-point lead at 41-36 with under 12 minutes to play in regulation.
The GWU defense buckled down over the next five minutes, holding the Lady Eagles scoreless while scoring seven points of their own to run out to their largest lead of the year at 48-36 with 7:27 to play on the scoreboard.
A lay-up by NCCU guard Blaire Houston at the 4:11 mark ended a 10 minute scoring drought for the Lady Eagles, who then got a fast break lay-up by fellow guard Kabrina Truesdale on the next possession to cut the GWU lead to eight at 48-40 with 3:16 to go in the game.
The Runnin' Bulldogs finished the contest off going 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute of play, holding on for the 56-45 non-conference road win.
Gardner-Webb held the Lady Eagles to 19 second half points, on 23.1 percent shooting (6-of-26), and knocked down free throws down the stretch to secure the road win.
Dale led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a game-high 15 points, while Green recorded a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds in the victory.
The Lady Eagles had two players score 10 points apiece in Chasidy Williams and Tenika Neely, yet struggled shooting the ball all game long, going 14-of-52 (26.9 percent) from the field for the contest.
In the victory, the Runnin' Bulldogs scored over 50 points for the second straight contest and outshot their opponent from the floor for the game.
The win allows GWU to avoid tying their worst start to a single-season in the program's NCAA Division I history, which came back in 2003-04 when the Runnin' Bulldogs started the year off 0-10.
Gardner-Webb (1-9) will remain on the road to open up Big South Conference play this weekend, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will take on Campbell University on Friday night, December 30th, at 7 p.m. in Buies Creek, N.C.
North Carolina Central (2-11) will also return to action Friday night, as the Lady Eagles will take on North Carolina at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 56, N.C. Central 45 |
