Runnin' Bulldogs Fall at Appalachian State, 84-43, in Non-Conference Play
November 21, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Boone, N.C. - The Runnin' Bulldogs got on the scoreboard first to start the game, yet struggled to protect the ball on the offensive end coughing it up 34 times in an 84-43 road loss to the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Tuesday night in Boone, N.C.
The loss drops GWU to 3-2 on the year, while the Mountaineers, who are ranked No. 12 overall in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 Coaches Poll, improve to 2-1 on the season with the win.
The win was the third straight for the Mountaineers over the Runnin' Bulldogs and evens the overall series up at 3-3 in the two teams' six overall meetings.
Juniors Catrina Green and Jasmine Dale led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 10 points apiece, while Green just missed out on her fourth straight double-double by hauling in eight rebounds in the contest.
The Freeman duo led the Mountaineers once more on Tuesday night, as Courtney Freeman recorded a game-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while Anna Freeman posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of play.
The Mountaineers out rebounded the Runnin' Bulldogs 44-37, which coupled with the 34 GWU turnovers, allowed the home team to hoist up 21 more shots than the visitors over the 40 minutes of play.
Appalachian State also had a huge advantage at the free throw line, as the Mountaineers were 13-of-14 (92.9 percent) from the charity stripe, while GWU was 8-of-20 (40 percent).
GWU took a 1-0 lead on a made free throw by sophomore forward Jessica Heilig at the 19:09 mark to start the game, yet saw the Appalachian State pressure force the issue for the next several minutes of the contest as the home team took advantage of a slew of GWU turnovers to run out to a 14-5 lead on a fast break layup by Courtney Freeman at the 13:58 mark.
After the Runnin' Bulldogs cut the Appalachian State lead to six at 16-10 on a three-pointer by Dale with 13:15 to go in the first half, the Mountaineers held GWU to only nine points for the remainder of the opening frame to take a 43-19 halftime lead.
Gardner-Webb's offensive woes continued out of the halftime break, as the Runnin' Bulldogs failed to score of the first four minutes of the second half and found themselves down by 29 at 48-19 on a steal and fast break layup by Anna Freeman with 17:02 to go in the contest.
Refusing to quit, the Runnin' Bulldogs responded with a 10-2 run over the next two minutes of play to cut the Mountaineers' lead back to 21 at 50-29 on a layup down low by Green.
However, the Runnin' Bulldogs would not get any closer of the final 13:27 of the game, as the Mountaineers used its defensive pressure and the free throw line to pull out to a lead as high as 43 points on its way to an 84-43 home win in the Holmes Center.
Appalachian State had 54 points in the paint, as the Mountaineers shot 47.2 percent (34-of-72) from the field compared to the Runnin' Bulldogs 31.4 percent (16-of-51) shooting overall.
Gardner-Webb (3-2) will return to action this Saturday afternoon, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will host Asbury College at 7 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena.
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| Box Score: App. State 84, GWU 43 |
