Gardner-Webb Women Hold Off Wofford, 68-57, Saturday Afternoon
December 14, 2013 | Women's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Catrina Green scored 18 points and pulled down 17 rebounds and Gardner-Webb got 16 more from Jasmine Dale to hold off Wofford, 68-57, Saturday afternoon.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (6-3) led by as many as 15 midway through the second half, but saw Wofford (2-6) pull as close as four points with just over four minutes remaining. Gardner-Webb hit the glass hard in the closing minutes and made enough free throws to pull back in front by double digits.
Green made 8-of-10 shots, blocked three shots and had three steals - pulling down 13 of her 17 boards on the defensive end. Olivia Parker added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench for Gardner-Webb, which shot 42.9 percent for the game.
Wofford struggled from the floor (26.2 percent), but got a game-high 26 points and eight steals from guard Jordan Frazier to hang around. Ashton Fleming added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Both teams struggled to find their shot out of the gate, but GWU jumped out to an 11-6 lead on a Parker free throw at the 13:36 mark. Wofford responded with an 11-5 run, capped by Frazier's free throw with 8:15 to play in the 1st half, for a 17-15 advantage.
A corner trey from Lana Doran at the 1:28 mark capped a 13-2 push and put the Runnin' Bulldogs up 28-19. Wofford would get two free throws from Frazier and a layup from Khadijah Joyner to cut the deficit to 29-23 at halftime.
After Frazier converted on an old-fashioned three-point play with 19:25 left in the 2nd half, cutting the lead to 29-26, GWU surged to push its margin to 46-32 on a Jessica Heilig layup at the 14:02 mark.
Wofford used a 12-2 run, keyed by three of its four 3-pointers in the half, to cut the Runnin' Bulldogs lead to 53-49 with 6:37 to play. Green hit a layup at the 6:12 mark, and Dale connected on two free throws with 5:50 left in the 2nd half to give GWU cushion at 57-49.
The Terriers cut the deficit to four points twice in the final five minutes of play, but were unable to make it a one-possession game the rest of the way. Gardner-Webb iced the game with five free throws, including four from Dale, in the final :45 of play to seal a 68-57 win on its home court.
Both teams coughed up 22 turnovers, with Gardner-Webb holding a 25-16 edge in scoring off of turnovers for the game. GWU also dominated paint play with a 36-20 advantage, and had a 20-7 edge in bench scoring.
The Runnin' Bulldogs also owned a 15-6 assists advantage, with Candace Parker leading all players with 6 dimes to go with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Gardner-Webb turns its focus to the Wright State Invitational, held Dec. 20-21 in Dayton, Ohio. The Runnin' Bulldogs are scheduled to play Wright State on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and will play either Bradley or Lipscomb on Saturday, tipping of at 2:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m.
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