Second Half Surge Falls Short in 59-56 Loss To Davidson Thursday Night
December 14, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Runnin' Bulldogs put together a 19-2 run over a seven minute stretch late in the second half to cut the Davidson lead to two, yet ran out of time as the Wildcats held on for the 59-56 non-conference win over Gardner-Webb on Thursday night in Paul Porter Arena.
The loss drops GWU to 4-5 overall, while Davidson improves to 4-5 overall with the win.
Gardner-Webb was led by a career-high 14 points from freshman guard Lana Doran, as she was 4-of-5 from downtown, while fellow newcomer Olivia Parker added nine points and five rebounds in the loss. Junior Jasmine Dale and sophomore forward Jessica Heilig added eight points apiece, while Catrina Green just missed out on yet another double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-high nine boards.
For Davidson, Laura Murray poured in a game-high 15 points, while Sophia Aleksandravicius posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes of play.
The Wildcats, who shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field overall in the first half of play, took an early 3-0 lead on a Murray trey to start the contest and then held a 9-5 lead on a free throw by Dakota Dukes with 15:33 on the clock.
After a 7-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Doran, pushed the Runnin' Bulldogs in front by three at 12-9, GWU pushed its lead out to five at 16-11 on a lay up down low from Green with 9:44 to go in the opening half.
Over the next nine minutes of play, the Runnin' Bulldogs struggled to make a basket, as Davidson used a 25-4 run to take a 16 point lead at 36-20 with 27 seconds to go before the halftime break.
The final 27 seconds belonged to the Runnin' Bulldogs, as Heilig scored on a lay with seven seconds to play, while on the ensuing inbounds pass GWU's Dale recorded a steal and fired off a quick three-pointer as the horn sounded to cut the Davidson lead to 11 at 36-25 at the halftime intermission.
Davidson continued to hold on to a double digit lead to start the second half, as the visitors pushed its lead out to 19 at 53-34 on a three-pointer by Murray with exactly 8:00 to play in regulation.
That's when the Runnin' Bulldogs intensity increased on both ends of the floor, as the full-court press led to a number of easy baskets for GWU who capitalized with a 19-2 run to cut the Wildcats' lead to two at 55-53 with a minute to go in the game.
Another three-pointer by Doran jump started the offensive run for the home team, while sophomore Mayhana Dunovant added a second three-pointer less than 35 seconds to cut the lead to 13 at 53-30.
Another Doran trey and a lay up by Heilig over the next two minutes put the Runnin' Bulldogs down by only eight with 5:55 to go in the contest. However, the Wildcats' Aleksandravicius stopped the run with a lay up down low to push the visitors back in front by 10 at 55-45.
GWU then ran off eight straight points, capped off by a lay up by Green, to get within a bucket of Davidson at 55-53 with 1:03 to play.
Down the stretch, Davidson hit 5-of-6 free throw attempts to take a 59-53 lead with 20 seconds to go in regulation.
A fourth three-pointer by Doran with 12 seconds on the clock cut the Davidson lead back to three at 59-56.
After a Davidson turnover gave the Runnin' Bulldogs the ball under its own basket with less than 10 seconds to go in the game, GWU's freshman Candace Brown was able to get off a contested three-point shot as time expired which rolled off the right side of the rim to allow the Wildcats to escape with a 59-56 win.
Gardner-Webb outscored the Wildcats, who were picked to win the Southern Conference for the second straight season this year in the Preseason Coaches Poll, 31-23 in the final 20 minutes of play.
GWU held a 28-18 points in the paint and a 27-24 points off the bench advantage over the Wildcats for the game, however, Davidson edged the Runnin' Bulldogs 16-14 in second chance points and 23-22 pin points off turnovers.
The Runnin' Bulldog defense forced Davidson into 27 turnovers for the game; however, the Wildcats were 21-of-47 (44.7 percent) from the field, including 10 three-pointers in the win.
Gardner-Webb (4-5) will hit the road to take on Wofford on Wednesday afternoon, December 19th, at 3 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C., while Davidson (4-5) will remain on the road to take on another local foe in the Charlotte 49ers on December 21st at 7 p.m.
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| Box Score: Davidson 59, GWU 56 |
