Burke, Francis Earn Big South Player Of The Week Honors
March 15, 2022 | Women's Lacrosse
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A pair of Runnin' Bulldogs have earned Big South weekly honors as Gardner-Webb's Talen Francis has been named Offensive Player of the Week and Danielle Burke the Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Tuesday morning.
The duo led Gardner-Webb (3-3) to a strong 12-8 victory at George Washington on March 7, the first road win of the young 2022 season for the 'Dogs.
Offensively, Francis scored a game-high four goals to become Gardner-Webb's all-time leader in points in the program's eight-year history. Her third game with three or more scores this season, Francis' first goal last Monday put the Runnin' Bulldogs ahead by two in the first quarter. She went on to beat the Colonial goalie for a second time in the third quarter, before netting a pair late in the fourth quarter to break a tie and seal the victory for GWU after George Washington tied the game at 8-all with 3:47 remaining. The redshirt-senior attacker also added one caused turnover, ground ball and draw control apiece.
Starring in cage, Danielle Burke tied a school record and set a new career high by turning away 18 shots against the Colonials, four more than her previous individual high in which she set on two occasions in 2019-20. Ranked second in the Big South in season save percentage (.436), the Concord, North Carolina native allowed only eight goals on 30 shots faced – 24 of which went on cage – good for a .692 save percentage, a season high. Burke's 18 saves rank as the second-most in a single game in the Big South this season and are tied for the fourth-most of any player in the nation in 2022.
The double weekly awards for GWU marks the second time in program history that a pair of Runnin' Bulldogs swept offensive and defensive honors from the Big South. The offensive selection is the third for Francis in her career, while the defensive selection for Burke marks her first.
Gardner-Webb will return to action on Saturday, March 19 when it travels to Deland, Fla. to take on Stetson at noon.
The duo led Gardner-Webb (3-3) to a strong 12-8 victory at George Washington on March 7, the first road win of the young 2022 season for the 'Dogs.
Offensively, Francis scored a game-high four goals to become Gardner-Webb's all-time leader in points in the program's eight-year history. Her third game with three or more scores this season, Francis' first goal last Monday put the Runnin' Bulldogs ahead by two in the first quarter. She went on to beat the Colonial goalie for a second time in the third quarter, before netting a pair late in the fourth quarter to break a tie and seal the victory for GWU after George Washington tied the game at 8-all with 3:47 remaining. The redshirt-senior attacker also added one caused turnover, ground ball and draw control apiece.
Starring in cage, Danielle Burke tied a school record and set a new career high by turning away 18 shots against the Colonials, four more than her previous individual high in which she set on two occasions in 2019-20. Ranked second in the Big South in season save percentage (.436), the Concord, North Carolina native allowed only eight goals on 30 shots faced – 24 of which went on cage – good for a .692 save percentage, a season high. Burke's 18 saves rank as the second-most in a single game in the Big South this season and are tied for the fourth-most of any player in the nation in 2022.
The double weekly awards for GWU marks the second time in program history that a pair of Runnin' Bulldogs swept offensive and defensive honors from the Big South. The offensive selection is the third for Francis in her career, while the defensive selection for Burke marks her first.
Gardner-Webb will return to action on Saturday, March 19 when it travels to Deland, Fla. to take on Stetson at noon.
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