Photo by: © Tim Cowie | GWUPhotos.com
Women's Lacrosse Looking Ahead to Remainder of the Season
April 02, 2021 | Women's Lacrosse
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb women's lacrosse enters the second half of the season as the team will look to gather more wins and make a run in the Big South Tournament.
The Runnin' Bulldogs won the season opener over Wofford, 19-6, and followed that with a 16-8 win at Akron to get to 2-0 for the best start in school history. The team lost their next four-in-a-row, but Gardner-Webb bounced back with a conference-opening win over Presbyterian on March 26. The 'Dogs are coming off a 17-10 loss to Winthrop. The team is currently 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big South.
The 'Dogs have four conference matches that count towards their conference record left in the season, vs Radford (4/3), vs Campbell (4/10), at Longwood (4/17), and at High Point (4/21). They are scheduled to host Presbyterian (4/7) and travel to Winthrop (4/24) for nonconference games.
This season has seen career marks set by Talen Francis, 100 career goals scored, and Jada Preston, 100 career points, to add to help solidify their dominant careers. Also, Maddie Martin broke the school record for draw controls in a game with 15 against Wofford in the season opener (2/22). The previous record was 14, which she set against Winthrop her freshman year (4/21/18).
At this point in the season, Gardner-Webb has received two weekly conference honors. Francis was named the Offensive Player of the Week for March 2, and Kathleen Mackey, the 'Dogs starting goalie, was named the Freshman of the Week on March 2.
The Runnin' Bulldogs have been some of the best players in many of the statistical categories this season. There are 21 Gardner-Webb players in the top-ten of the different figures that are tracked.
The Runnin' Bulldogs have been one of the best teams in the country in groundballs, scooping 22.88 per game, a total of 183 in eight games played. This stat is the fourth-highest average in the country. Three Gardner-Webb players average over two scoops per game. Janice Donaldson is leading the Big South in groundballs per game with an average of 2.75. Donaldson is 39th nationally in this category as well. Francis is tied for 8th in the conference with 18 at this point in the season. Martin is the third of these with 2.13 groundballs per game average.
Gardner-Webb has been one of the fiercest defenses this season, causing 10.75 per game, standing at 11th in the NCAA in this category. A pair of Runnin' Bulldogs rank in the top-50 in this stat in the NCAA. Heather Lobas (33rd) leads the team with 14 in the eight games this season and stands at second for all players in the Big South. Francis (43rd) is fourth in the conference with a 1.62 average per game. The team has a +9 margin in the category on the season. The four starting defenders for the 'Dogs have caused 31 turnovers. Lobas has 14, Donaldson with eight, Emily Rowell caused five, and Mackenzie Gallery has four.
Francis leads the team in goals scored with 21, good enough for third in the Big South. Eilish Gately and Preston each have tallied 16 through the first eight games of the season, tying for eighth in the conference.
Gardner-Webb has converted 41% of their shot attempts into goals while sending 69.4% on cage. Gately leads the team in shot percentage, having 16 goals on her 30 shot attempts hit the back of the net. This computes to a 53.3% shot percentage, which ties for 76th in the NCAA.
Of Gardner-Webb's 94 goals scored, 42 have come off assists. Preston is leading the team with 14, for a 1.75 per match average. This ranks top-50 in the NCAA and is third in the conference. Another top Runnin' Bulldog in this category is Hailey Maranto who has six on the season, tenth in the Big South.
Preston has been showcasing a balanced attack all season, having at least one goal and one assist in seven of the eight games played.
Gardner-Webb has secured 51.9% of draw controls this season. Martin and Francis have been the team leaders in draw controls per game, each stand in the top-10 in the conference. Martin is in fourth (4.88), and Francis is tied for sixth (4.12) within the Big South. Nationally, Martin ranks 46th in this category. Tori Birks is third on the team with 16 draw controls this season.
Mackey has been one of the best goalies in Big South, second in Goals Against Average (13.34), second in save percentage (37.9%), and fourth in Saves Per Game (8.00).
The freshmen on the team have proved critical in the rotation as they have combined for 13 points, 31 groundballs, and 14 caused turnovers.
Gardner-Webb will need to have one of the top-four records within conference play to qualify for the Big South Tournament in hopes of winning the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Runnin' Bulldogs won the season opener over Wofford, 19-6, and followed that with a 16-8 win at Akron to get to 2-0 for the best start in school history. The team lost their next four-in-a-row, but Gardner-Webb bounced back with a conference-opening win over Presbyterian on March 26. The 'Dogs are coming off a 17-10 loss to Winthrop. The team is currently 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big South.
The 'Dogs have four conference matches that count towards their conference record left in the season, vs Radford (4/3), vs Campbell (4/10), at Longwood (4/17), and at High Point (4/21). They are scheduled to host Presbyterian (4/7) and travel to Winthrop (4/24) for nonconference games.
This season has seen career marks set by Talen Francis, 100 career goals scored, and Jada Preston, 100 career points, to add to help solidify their dominant careers. Also, Maddie Martin broke the school record for draw controls in a game with 15 against Wofford in the season opener (2/22). The previous record was 14, which she set against Winthrop her freshman year (4/21/18).
At this point in the season, Gardner-Webb has received two weekly conference honors. Francis was named the Offensive Player of the Week for March 2, and Kathleen Mackey, the 'Dogs starting goalie, was named the Freshman of the Week on March 2.
The Runnin' Bulldogs have been some of the best players in many of the statistical categories this season. There are 21 Gardner-Webb players in the top-ten of the different figures that are tracked.
The Runnin' Bulldogs have been one of the best teams in the country in groundballs, scooping 22.88 per game, a total of 183 in eight games played. This stat is the fourth-highest average in the country. Three Gardner-Webb players average over two scoops per game. Janice Donaldson is leading the Big South in groundballs per game with an average of 2.75. Donaldson is 39th nationally in this category as well. Francis is tied for 8th in the conference with 18 at this point in the season. Martin is the third of these with 2.13 groundballs per game average.
Gardner-Webb has been one of the fiercest defenses this season, causing 10.75 per game, standing at 11th in the NCAA in this category. A pair of Runnin' Bulldogs rank in the top-50 in this stat in the NCAA. Heather Lobas (33rd) leads the team with 14 in the eight games this season and stands at second for all players in the Big South. Francis (43rd) is fourth in the conference with a 1.62 average per game. The team has a +9 margin in the category on the season. The four starting defenders for the 'Dogs have caused 31 turnovers. Lobas has 14, Donaldson with eight, Emily Rowell caused five, and Mackenzie Gallery has four.
Francis leads the team in goals scored with 21, good enough for third in the Big South. Eilish Gately and Preston each have tallied 16 through the first eight games of the season, tying for eighth in the conference.
Gardner-Webb has converted 41% of their shot attempts into goals while sending 69.4% on cage. Gately leads the team in shot percentage, having 16 goals on her 30 shot attempts hit the back of the net. This computes to a 53.3% shot percentage, which ties for 76th in the NCAA.
Of Gardner-Webb's 94 goals scored, 42 have come off assists. Preston is leading the team with 14, for a 1.75 per match average. This ranks top-50 in the NCAA and is third in the conference. Another top Runnin' Bulldog in this category is Hailey Maranto who has six on the season, tenth in the Big South.
Preston has been showcasing a balanced attack all season, having at least one goal and one assist in seven of the eight games played.
Gardner-Webb has secured 51.9% of draw controls this season. Martin and Francis have been the team leaders in draw controls per game, each stand in the top-10 in the conference. Martin is in fourth (4.88), and Francis is tied for sixth (4.12) within the Big South. Nationally, Martin ranks 46th in this category. Tori Birks is third on the team with 16 draw controls this season.
Mackey has been one of the best goalies in Big South, second in Goals Against Average (13.34), second in save percentage (37.9%), and fourth in Saves Per Game (8.00).
The freshmen on the team have proved critical in the rotation as they have combined for 13 points, 31 groundballs, and 14 caused turnovers.
Gardner-Webb will need to have one of the top-four records within conference play to qualify for the Big South Tournament in hopes of winning the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
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