Box score (PDF)
FARMVILLE, Va.- Candace Brown's 20 points and 12 rebounds were not enough as the Gardner-Webb women's basketball team fell to Longwood 62-59 in its regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon in Willett Hall.
With the victory, Gardner-Webb ends the regular-season with a 19-11 overall record and a 13-7 record in Big South play, while Longwood improves to 8-21 and 5-15 in conference action.
The Runnin' Bulldogs trailed 31-21 at halftime as they shot just 30.0% from the field and were 2-for-10 from three-point range, while the Lancers shot a 37.9% clip in the first 20 minutes and knocked down four shots from behind the three-point arc on 11 attempts.
Gardner-Webb did a great job of rebounding the ball as it held a 43-32 advantage on the glass, including a 15-9 lead on offensive boards, but the Lancers allowed GWU to convert the offensive boards into 11 second chance points.
Alexus Hill also had a great day offensive for GWU with 16 points and hauled down a career-high nine boards, while Olivia Parker was also in double-figures with 13 points and added seven rebounds. Brown also stuffed the stat sheet with four assists, four streak, and two blocks.
Eboni Gilliam came off the bench and led the Lancers with 15 points and a game-high 14 boards and Kyndal Skersick and Deborah Headen also were in double-figures for Longwood with 12 and 11 points respectively.
Parker opened with the game's first points on a layup at the 9:13 mark of the opening quarter but the Runnin' Bulldogs were held without a basket for the next 3:09, before Parker hit another layup, as GWU trailed 10-4 midway through the quarter.
The Lancers led 14-8 with just over three minutes left in the quarter but GWU outscored the home team 6-2 over the remainder of the period and trailed 16-14 at the end of 10 minutes.
Longwood played great defense in the second stanza, limiting GWU to just 2-of-12 from the field and a total of seven points, as the Lancers took a 10 point lead into the break (31-21).
Behind Brown's seven points, four boards, two assists, and three steals, GWU got back in the game with a big third quarter, as it outscored Longwood 21-9 in the third stanza. Longwood led 38-30 with 6:30 remaining in the quarter as Skersick made two free-throws, but the Runnin' Bulldogs held the Lancers to just one field goal for the remainder of the quarter, as they led by two heading into the final 10 minutes.
Brown's layup early in the quarter gave GWU a 43-40 lead, but Longwood would hold the Runnin' Bulldogs without a point for the next four minutes. The Lancers led 50-43 with 5:53 left in regulation, but GWU answered back with a 7-0 run and tied the game at 50 on a three-pointer by Brown.
Longwood responded with a 6-0 run on its own and would hold off the Runnin' Bulldogs, as the Lancers were clutch from the line, hitting all six of their free-throws to hold on for the 62-59 victory.
Gardner-Webb and Longwood will head to next week's Big South Tournament in Asheville, N.C. Longwood will begin play on Thursday, while Gardner-Webb earned a first round bye with a top-five finish in the regular-season, and will begin its quest for the school's second championship on Friday.
