BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs trailed the Virginia Tech Hokies by just four at halftime, but were unable to overcome the deficit and shot just 1-of-16 from the floor in the third quarter. The 'Dogs suffered a 22-point loss, 87-65.
Gardner-Webb (3-3) quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, and did not allow the Hokies to take their first lead until 1:47 mark of the opening quarter.
With 1:22 to go, Jhessyka Williams' layup off a pass from Morgan Pointer tied the game at 18, but Virginia Tech led after one quarter, 21-18.
Savannah Plentovich opened the second quarter with a three-pointer from the corner which evened the score at 21, but the Hokies quickly broke the tie thanks to MaKayla Ennis' three-pointer just 1:04 into the quarter, and maintained its advantage for the remainder of the afternoon.
Gardner-Webb trailed by as many as eight, 29-21, after the Hokies' run, which began with Ennis' three and was capped off by an Aisha Sheppard three-pointer.
With the 'Dogs down eight, 5-0 run by Carley Plentovich and twin sister Savannah pulled the visitors within three. After C. Plentovich's triple, S. Plentovich stole the inbounds pass and converted a layup to make it a 29-26 in favor of Virginia Tech.
The Runnin' Bulldogs would get within three once more in the quarter following a Gabrielle Caponegro free throw, but the Hokies held a 37-33 lead at the intermission.
Virginia Tech (8-1) opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run and took its first double-digit lead, 45-35, with 5:45 left in the period when the contest's leading scorer, Dara Mabrey, connected from beyond the arc.
The 'Dogs struggled from the floor in the third quarter, shooting just 1-of-16, while Virginia Tech was 8-for-20 with three of the eight field goals coming from three-point range.
The Hokies built a 19-point lead by the end of the quarter and led by more than 20 just 30 seconds into the final period.
The home squad took its largest lead of the game. 78-52, with 3:50 remaining in the contest and earned the win, 87-65.
Virginia Tech's Mabrey led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Elizabeth Kitley (18 points), Trinity Baptiste (17 points) and Aisha Sheppard (14 points) all reached double figures. Kitley and Baptiste both had double-doubles, and Kitley also swatted four shots. The Hokies made 32-of-69 attempts from floor (46.4%) with 10 of 32 makes being three-pointers.
For Gardner-Webb, S. Plentovich had a team-high 19 points and also pulled down six rebounds. C. Plenovich scored 15 points and had a team-high seven rebounds, while Williams was the third and final Runnin' Bulldog in double figures with 10. Gardner-Webb shot 21-of-70 (30.0%).
The 'Dogs will return to action on Sunday, December 15 when they battle the Delaware Blue Hens at 3 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena. Catch all the action live on ESPN+.
