Box score (PDF)
CONWAY, S.C.- Candace Brown scored a game-high 21 points and Olivia Parker record her fifth straight double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Gardner-Webb women's basketball to a 61-51 victory over Coastal Carolina, in a Big South Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon in the HTC Center.
With the victory, Gardner-Webb improves its overall record to 19-10 overall and 13-6 in Big South play, while Coastal falls to 11-16 overall and 6-12 in conference play.
The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 40.4% (21-of-52) for the game but really did a great job of crashing the boards, as they held a 47-40 advantage including hauling down 15 offensive rebounds.
Gardner-Webb struggled shooting the ball in the first half connecting on just 8-of-26 from the field, but did a great job of getting into the paint and drawing fouls, as it hit 11-of-19 from the free-throw line, compared to Coastal, who attempted just five free-throws in the first 20 minutes.
The Runnin' Bulldogs played great defense on CCU's leading scorer, Ced Gibson, limiting her to just 12 points on 4-of-18 from the field, and as a team Coastal shot just 27.5%, hitting 19-of-69 field goal attempts.
Despite the tough shooting in the first half, GWU shot 50.0% in the second half, including a blistering 60% in the fourth quarter.
Gardner-Webb took a 10-7 lead with 3:57 to go in the first quarter as Parker hit two free-throws, but Coastal hit back-to-back layups to take the lead and held a 15-12 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Evelyn Adebayo's layup tied the game at 18 with 7:30 left in the quarter, but the Chanticleers raced out to a 9-0 over the next two minutes, but the Runnin' Bulldogs responded with a 12-3 run of their own for the remainder of the quarter and trailed 30-29 at halftime.
The Runnin' Bulldogs came out of the halftime break with a fantastic effort on the defensive end, limiting Coastal to just 4-of-16 from the field, and led for the majority of the third quarter. GWU led 39-34 as Brown nailed a layup with 5:02 left in the quarter, but Coastal snatched the lead back on Patricia Albert's layup at the 2:01 mark. Ky'Asia Stanford hit a layup and assisted on Alexus Hill's three-pointer and the Runnin' Bulldogs grabbed the lead back and went into the fourth quarter holding a 44-42 advantage.
Gardner-Webb outscored the Chanticleers 7-2 over the first four minutes of the final quarter and held Coastal scoreless over the final 2:28 of the quarter to send GWU to a 61-51 lead. GWU put the game away hitting 4-of-6 from the free-throw line over the final 2:48 of regulation.
The Runnin' Bulldogs return to action next Saturday (March 5) when they travel to Farmville, Va. To face Longwood for their regular-season finale at 2:00 p.m.
