Women's Basketball Set To Open 2017-18 Season Friday Evening vs. Pfeiffer
November 09, 2017 | Women's Basketball
The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team is coming off a solid 2016-17 season. The Runnin' Bulldogs finished 12-19 overall, with wins over Appalachian State, and in televised games against Western Carolina and Liberty. But the 'Dogs struggled to close games out at times, losing five games by three points or less including a season ending 54-51 loss to Radford in the second round of the Big South Conference Tournament.
"Last season could've been so much different if we would've finished out those few games," says Gardner-Webb Women's Basketball Head Coach Rick Reeves. "But we have some depth this year and I'm excited for the season."
Coach Reeves, who enters into his 14th season with the Runnin' Bulldogs says that the team's outlook remains the same; win the Big South Conference no matter how the last season went.
"Well we always want to win the conference and go to the NCAA Tournament," says Reeves. "That's the goal every year. This preseason we were picked seventh, but I told the young ladies that the last time we won the conference, we were picked sixth so that doesn't really mean anything to us."
The Runnin' Bulldogs will have a veteran team this season, as four of their five starters return from last year's squad, including second team All-Big South selection Tierra Huntsman. The redshirt-senior out of Connersville, Indiana was the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points per game last season. Huntsman also lead the Runnin' Bulldogs with 62 steals last season, good enough for sixth in the Big South Conference. Huntsman says it's an honor to be named as a representative from GWU on the All Conference Rankings.
"It's an honor to have someone named from Gardner-Webb," says Tierra Huntsman. "It shows how good our team is and I have to thank my teammates for supporting me."
The Runnin' Bulldogs will return to the floor with Savannah Plentovinch, who averaged 39% from three and averaged three assists per game. Her twin sister Carley Plentovich will return as well, but will miss the beginning of the season due to offseason surgery. Carley also shot well from behind the arc at 36% and finished the season with 37 assists.
Returning inside for the Runnin' Bulldogs is 6'2 senior Celia Tibbs. Tibbs lead the team last season with 19 blocks last year. Alexus Hill also returns for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Hill was second on the team in assists, finishing with 66 last season. Ky'Asia Stanford will also be back on the court for Gardner-Webb, as she was second on the team with 32 steals last season.
Morgan Pointer and Corinna Weigand return for their second season at Gardner-Webb. Pointer shot 71% from the free throw line last season while Weigand redshirted last year.
Coach Reeves says that the depth returning to the team will help them win some of those games that they were unable to close out last season.
"Practice has been great," says Reeves. "The young ladies' attitudes have been great and I'm proud of them."
There are new faces on the GWU roster as well. Katie Stainer is a sophomore transfer from Southeastern Illinois College. The Brisbane, Australia native averaged 5.5 points per game and 2.9 assists per game for the Falcons last season.
The Runnin' Bulldogs also signed a quartet of freshmen that will look to help GWU to a conference title this season. Taylor Kelley, out of Clermont, Ga. averaged 14.9 points, 2.9 steals, and 2.1 assists per game throughout her senior season, which also saw her surpass the 1,000 point mark for her career.
Nia Lee is a Freshman out of Lawrenceville, Ga. who led her team to the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAAAAAA Girls State Basketball Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2007 in 2017, with the team finishing the year with a 24-5 record.
Faith Hoover is a freshman out of Raleigh, N.C. and averaged 9.0 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game throughout her senior campaign and earned 2016-17 North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4-A Cap-8 Conference All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.
The Runnin' Bulldogs also add Alexis Hueston out of Roanoke, Va. Hueston averaged 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game throughout her senior season and took part in the 2017 Virginia High School Coaches Association (VHSCA) All-Star basketball game.
GWU will also add sophomore Gabrielle Caponegro to the roster, but she will have to sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. At LIU-Brooklyn, Caponegro averaged 3.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Blackbirds.
The team is a tight knit group, and they are very motivated by the low preseason ranking, as the Runnin' Bulldogs were voted to finish seventh in the Big South Conference preseason poll.
"We're not bothered by it," says Huntsman. "It's up to us to prove people wrong."
The women's basketball team faces a daunting non-conference schedule. The 'Dogs will start off the season at home to Division III Pfeiffer on November 10. The Falcons finished just 8-19 last season but defeated Division I foe NC Central last season 50-47. The Falcons will also play SoCon member Furman later in the season.
The 'Dogs then travel up to Lexington, Ky. for the Matthew Mitchell Classic as they take on Kentucky on November 12. The Wildcats fell to eventual national champion South Carolina in the SEC Tournament last season and hosted the First and Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Belmont 73-70 before falling to Ohio State 82-68. After that, GWU takes a quick drive to Morehead, Ky. to take on the Morehead State Eagles on November 13. The Eagles finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 21-10 record and qualified for the Women's NIT.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will return to Paul Porter Arena for a five-game home stand, starting with American Conference member UCF on November 17. The Knights finished 21-12 last season and advanced to the second round of the Women's NIT. The Knights also knocked off the Bulldogs in Orlando 66-52 last year, but GWU shot 41% from beyond the arc. GWU will then welcome Furman on November 20, for a rematch of last year's contest, an 84-62 win for the Paladins.
After a quick break for Thanksgiving, the 'Dogs take on NAIA rival Montreat College on November 25. The Cavaliers would fall by a score of 92-45 in Boiling Springs last season. Four Runnin' Bulldogs would score in the double digits, lead by 14 points from Savannah Plentovich. The Dogs then host their first Education Day of the year on November 28 at 11:00 AM against USC Upstate. The Runnin' Bulldogs knocked off the Spartans 57-53 in Spartanburg last season, outscoring Upstate 24-10 in the second half.
GWU returns to the road for a rivalry showdown with Wofford College on December 5. The Terriers knocked off the Bulldogs 75-66 last season and held GWU to just 41.5% shooting.
After a break for exams, GWU will travel to Davidson College for an early morning showdown with the Wildcats on December 15 at 11:30 AM. Davidson finished 6-23 last season, with an 82-72 win over Big South member High Point. The team will then travel north to Emmitsburg, Md. for a matchup with Mount Saint Mary's of the Northeastern Conference on December 17. The Mountaineers finished 12-18 last season, and will play NCAA powerhouses Notre Dame and Maryland this season.
The Dogs will take a break for Christmas, and return home to face Western Carolina on December 28. Last season, the Runnin' Bulldogs knocked off the Catamounts in Cullowhee by a score of 68-60. Tierra Huntsman would lead the 'Dogs with 24 points.
GWU plays their final non-conference game on December 30 against Division II member Converse College. The Runnin' Bulldogs knocked off the Valkyries 68-38 at home last season and held Converse to 23% shooting.
Coach Reeves believes the challenging non-conference schedule will help his team once they reach conference play.
"I always look to schedule teams that are better than the best teams in our conference," says Reeves. "It's helped us a lot in the past. We just need to stay healthy. Everyone remembers when we knocked off North Carolina when they were ranked a few years ago. We were poised for a good season but we had a lot of injuries and couldn't finish. So we'll need to stay healthy for when we reach the conference tournament so we can win it."
The Runnin' Bulldogs will play their first conference game on the road on January 2 at High Point University, before taking on Radford at home on January 6, in a rematch of the Big South Tournament. Radford was also voted to win the Big South Women's Championship.
Other notable conference matchups include January 20 vs Charleston Southern where Coach Reeves will coach his 250th Big South contest, another education day matchup on Feb 13 at 11 AM vs Longwood, and the Runnin' Bulldogs home contest against High Point on February 24, which will be nationally televised on ESPN3.
