GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Savannah Plentovich put the Runnin' Bulldogs in front with 30 seconds left and added a free throw with under 10 ticks on the clock as the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators, 60-58, in Tuesday's opener.
 
The win marks the first victory over a Power-5 school for Gardner-Webb since the 2015-16 season when the team traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C. and knocked off No. 22 North Carolina in Carmichael Arena, 66-65. It is Gardner-Webb's first-ever win over an SEC School
 
"It's a good experience for our team," said head coach Alex Simmons. "Only our senior Ky'Asia Stanford had experienced something like beating a Power-5 opponent, so it was great for the rest of the to get this experience and a big victory. I really wanted it for the team. We kept preaching to our team that our preparation would reflect in our performance. We stuck to our scouting report and everybody was locked in and on the same page."
 
The win is also the first win as a head coach for Simmons.
 
"It really means a lot to get this win with this special group of girls," said Simmons. "They've bought in to everything we've been preaching since we started this journey in April."
 
In the season opener, S. Plentovich scored a team-high 21 points, while her twin, Carley Plentovich, added 15. The duo shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc, going a combined 8-for-19.
 
Florida (0-1) opened up an eight-point lead, 17-9, by the end of the first period, but Simmons' Runnin' Bulldogs began to battle their way back to lead.
 
An 18-10 run in the last 6:22 of the second period was capped off by an S. Plentovich three-pointer, tying the contest at 27. The triple put the junior guard in double figures in scoring less than 20 minutes into the contest.
 
Gardner-Webb (1-0) would take its first lead of the game since it was a 2-0 score just 12 seconds after Plentovich's three as Gabrielle Caponegro hit a pair of free throws to give the 'Dogs a two-point advantage, 29-27.
 
UF would score four unanswered points to end the half and take a 31-27 lead to the locker room.
 
A quick 4-0 Gardner-Webb run to open the third period once again tied the contest, and from there, the two teams began a back-and-forth battle for the lead, as it swapped hands seven times over the remainder of the quarter. C. Plentovich drained her third shot from the beyond the arc with 53 seconds remaining in the third to put the Runnin' Bulldogs up, 45-42 with just ten minutes of play remaining.
 
The Gators came out with urgency in the final quarter, retaking the lead, 46-45, but Carley Plentovich knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the game to switch the lead back to the Runnin' Bulldogs.
 
Gardner-Webb would lead by as many as four following an S. Plentovich layup with 7:47 left, but an 8-0 Florida run over the next 4:21 gave Florida a four-point advantage. The Gators extended their lead to five, 60-55, with 1:38 left on the clock, but from there it was all Gardner-Webb.
 
A Caponegro layup with 1:16 remaining made it a one-possession game and eight seconds later, S. Plentovich forced a turnover and converted a layup to pull the Runnin' Bulldogs within a point, 58-57.
 
Trailing by one with 40 seconds left, Simmons called a timeout, and S. Plentovich produced in a clutch moment, hitting a jumper to give Gardner-Webb the lead with 30 seconds left.
 
Florida was unable to score, turning the ball over to the 'Dogs and with nine seconds left, and a foul sent S. Plentovich to the charity stripe where she hit 1-of-2, making it a 60-58 score in favor of Gardner-Webb.
 
Down to its final chance, the Gators' Funda Nakkasoglu's three-pointer from well outside the arc was long and the Runnin' Bulldogs earned their first win of the 2018-19 campaign, while Simmons picked up win No. 1 as a head coach.
 
Gardner-Webb shot 35 percent from the floor, while Florida was just slightly better, making 41 percent of its attempts. The Runnin' Bulldogs were 8-of-10 at the free throw line. The Gators struggled, making only 4-of-13 attempts.
 
Nakkasoglu's scored a game-high 22 points, while S. Plentovich scored 21 on 7-of-17 shooting and collected nine rebounds. C. Plentovich contributed 15 points. Neydja Petithomme was the third Gardner-Webb player in double figures with 10.
 
"The twins started slow, but we preach to just keep running and keep shooting and that's what they did," said Simmons. "They came up big for us today."
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs will now play four straight home games, beginning with Warren Wilson on Friday, November 9 at 6 p.m.