GWU Women's Basketball Drops Big South Opener at Campbell on Friday Night
December 31, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Buies Creek, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team struggled on the glass on both ends of the floor on Friday night, as Campbell out-rebounded GWU 45 to 33, including 21 to 10 in offensive boards, en route to defeating the Runnin' Bulldogs 62-52 in Gore Arena in Buies Creek, N.C.
The loss drops GWU to 1-10 overall on the year and 0-1 in the Big South, while Campbell improves to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in the Big South with the win.
Both Gardner-Webb and Campbell continued to go back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the contest, as despite seven turnovers in the first nine minutes of play, GWU freshman guard Eliana Scanlon drained a three-pointer from the right wing to knot the score up at 12-12 with 10:15 to play in the first half.
After tying the score up for a third time at 16-16 on a jump shot in the lane by sophomore center Catrina Green at the 6:14 mark, the Fighting Camels went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes of play to pull out in front by eight at 24-16 with only three minutes to play before the halftime break.
GWU outscored the Fighting Camels 5-4 over the final three minutes of the opening half to put the score at 28-21 in favor of Campbell at the halftime intermission.
Out of the halftime break, the Fighting Camels used some sharp shooting by both Katelyn Bass and Jazmine Cooper to go on a 9-3 scoring run and push the home team's lead to 13 at 37-24 with 15:58 to go in the contest.
After going over six minutes without a field goal, the Runnin' Bulldogs picked up back-to-back lay-ups from Green and freshman guard Mayhana Dunovant to give life back to GWU and put the score at 47-32 in favor of the Fighting Camels with 11:40 to play.
A drive and contested lay-up by senior guard Brianna Dillard at the 6:22 mark of the second half put the Runnin' Bulldogs in striking distance by nine at 50-41; however, the Runnin' Bulldogs turned the ball over three times over the next two minutes and fell behind by double-digits once more at 53-41.
GWU would cut the Campbell lead to nine two more times over the final four minutes of play, however, could not stop the Fighting Camels from scoring fast break points and getting easy put backs on the offensive glass, as the Runnin' Bulldogs fell 62-52 in the two teams' conference opener.
Gardner-Webb, which shot only 38 percent (20-of-53) from the floor overall, was 5-of-12 from behind the three-point line for the contest, however, the Fighting Camels shot 41 percent (26-of-64) for the game overall.
The difference in the contest was on the offensive glass, as the Camels had 21 offensive rebounds compared to the Runnin' Bulldogs 10, which led to 14 second chance points and 30 points in the paint for the contest.
Sophomore guard Jasmine Dale posted a season-high 16 points, hitting four three-pointers in the loss, while Green added 12 points and seven rebounds. Dillard, who fouled out in the second half, had nine points and five rebounds, while KiKi Smith and Dunovant each had four points apiece.
For Campbell, Tonisha Baker had a game-high 18 points and five steals, while both Bass and Cooper chipped in with 12 points apiece.
While the loss is GWU's 10th of the season, the Runnin' Bulldogs eclipsed the 50 point mark for the third straight contest.
Gardner-Webb (1-10, 0-1 Big South) will kick-off the New Year on the road, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will wrap up a five-game road swing at High Point on Monday, January 2nd, at 4 p.m.
Campbell (8-4, 1-0 Big South) will remain at home to host UNC Asheville on Monday, January 2nd, at 5:15 p.m.
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| Box Score: Campbell 62, Gardner-Webb 52 |
