Gardner-Webb Sprints To 84-58 Win Over Kennesaw State
November 15, 2013 | Women's Basketball
The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-0) used a 27-7 run that spanned both halves to take a 55-39 lead on a Mayhana Dunovant 3-pointer with 11:06 remaining in the game. Kennesaw State (1-2) led 32-21 at halftime, but saw Gardner-Webb dominate both ends of the floor in the second half to pull away.
Jasmine Dale led Gardner-Webb with 16 points, Dunovant added 14 points and eight assists (no turnovers), Parker scored 11 points and pulled down 10 boards and Green connected for 10 points and grabbed 14 off the glass to pace the 'Dogs.
Thursday marked the 24th double-double of Greene's career in Boiling Springs, and the second in a row. She had 22 points and 12 rebounds in Monday's win over UNC Greensboro.
Gardner-Webb shot 53.8 percent in the final 20 minutes (21-of-39) and made 4-of-6 from long range to build its second-half lead.
A much smaller Kennesaw State squad owned a surprising 23-11 edge on the backboards to build a four-point lead with 8:01 to play in the opening half, before Gardner-Webb began to clean up the Owls' misses and attack its own offensive glass.
A quick 5-0 spurt by the Runnin' Bulldogs out of the locker room put them up 36-32, but consecutive buckets by Kennesaw State - the second on a long 3-pointer from Ty-Nita Baker - put the visitors back in front 37-36 with 17:44 left.
That would be the Owls' final lead. Dale drained her own 3-pointer with 17:01 for a 39-37 advantage, kickstarting a 16-0 run that gave Gardner-Webb a 52-37 lead on a Green follow shot with 12:26 left in the game.
Kennesaw would slowly work the margin back to nine points with 7:56 to play, but Gardner-Webb responded with a decisive, 17-2 run to blow the game wide open. The GWU reserves fared well in the final 2:53, leading to the final margin and the squad's second 80-point outing of the season in three games.
In addition to the quartet in double figures, Gardner-Webb got seven points and three boards from Heilig, six points from Tabby Koerner - all in the first half - and seven points off the bench from freshman Kiera Currie.
Gardner-Webb shot a strong 50.8 percent for the game (33-of-65), made 7-of-15 from long range (46.7 percent) and out rebounded KSU 48-37. A hefty advantage of 50-28 in the paint helped the shooting percentage, as did a 17-3 edge in points off of turnovers.
GWU held an 18-5 assist-to-turnover ratio for the game and saw a deep bench outscore Kennesaw State 31-9 - with Parker and Currie leading that charge.
Kennesaw State shot 36.5 percent for the game (23-of-63), getting a team-high 16 points from Ty-Nita Baker - with six of those points scored in the closing moments with the game out of reach. Valescia Dixon added 14 points and seven rebounds and Kristina Wells played well with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three assists (one turnover) in a game-high 39 minutes.
No other Owls' player had more than six points.
Gardner-Webb returns home on Tuesday night, hosting Appalachian State at 5:30 pm in Paul Porter Arena in the first game of a doubleheader with the men's team on November 19th. The game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3 / wgwg.org) and the Big South Network.
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