Swarming Defense Leads GWU to 54-32 Home Win Over NCCU
December 22, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team registered 12 blocks, 14 steals and held North Carolina Central to only nine made field goals on 17 percent shooting for the game to lead the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 54-32 route of the Lady Eagles on Saturday afternoon in Paul Porter Arena.
GWU improves to 6-5 on the year, while the shorthanded NCCU Lady Eagles, who dressed only six players for the game, falls to 0-14 on the year with the loss.
In the win, the Runnin' Bulldogs recorded a season-high 12 blocks as a team, which ranks as the third most for a GWU team in a single game in the Runnin' Bulldogs' 12-year Division I history.
The 32 points allowed by GWU is the second fewest allowed in a single game by a Runnin' Bulldog team in its NCAA Division I history, as GWU held Mercer to only 28 points back in 2007.
Freshman Candace Brown led the way offensively with a team-high 13 points for the Runnin' Bulldogs, while fellow guards Jasmine Dale and Lana Doran added 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the win. Freshman forward Olivia Parker pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots, while junior center Catrina Green tied her career-high with five blocks in the game.
For NCCU, guard Amber Neely recorded a game-high 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds, while Aja Hoyle added six points and five rebounds in 37 minutes of play. Forward Tisha Dixon hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss.
The Runnin' Bulldogs, which forced NCCU into 24 turnovers for the game, outscored the Lady Eagles 21-8 in points off turnovers and 20-4 in fast break points.
GWU also outscored NCCU 26-0 in bench points and 28-16 in points in the paint.
Gardner-Webb's Green opened the game up with a lay up down low at the 19:10 mark to five the home team an early 2-0 lead, a lead that the home team would hold from start to finish.
After taking a 7-0 run on a three-pointer from Dale, GWU pushed its lead out to 10 at 20-10 on a fast break lay up by Doran at the 5:28 mark in the first half.
A 9-0 run by GWU over the next four minutes allowed the home team to run out to a 19 point lead, its largest of the first half, en route to a 29-14 halftime lead at intermission.
The GWU defense would continue to cause problems for the Lady Eagles throughout the second half, as the Runnin' Bulldogs' maintained a double digit lead for the final 20 minutes of play.
A lay up by Brown at the 17:00 mark gave the home team another 19 point lead, this time at 33-14, as GWU continued to put pressure on the Lady Eagles on both ends of the floor.
GWU pushed its lead out to 20 at 45-25 on a three-pointer from Dale with 8:30 to play in regulation and maintained a 20 point lead or more for the remainder of the contest before ultimately earning a 54-32 win in front of its home crowd.
The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 48.9 percent from the floor overall, as GWU was 23-of-47, yet struggled again from the free throw line going 3-of-10 for 30 percent overall.
GWU seniors Cierra Harris and Kim McKenney were recognized at
halftime.
Gardner-Webb (6-5) will return to action on December 28th, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will hit the road to take on Kennesaw State for its final non-conference game of the season at 6 p.m. in Kennesaw, Ga. NCCU (0-14) will jump back into its conference slate on the road at Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla. on Saturday, January 12th.
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| Box Score: GWU 54, NCCU 32 |
