YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – Gardner-Webb finished off their two-game road trip in Ohio with a 21-18 loss to Youngstown State. GWU's Jada Preston tallied five points in the final quarter to bring the 'Dogs back within a goal and give them a comeback opportunity.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs' Bria Foley opened the scoring for the teams with a goal less than two minutes into the action. The teams then traded the lead as each went back and forth with a quick pair of goals. The Penguins netted the final three of the first quarter to take a 7-5 lead and scored the first two of the second to extend their advantage.
 
Youngstown State was able to tally another three-goal unanswered stretch and pushed their lead to as many as six in the second quarter. GWU drew a foul that led to a free-position opportunity for GWU in the closing seconds of the quarter that Alera Cornett buried to put their deficit at 13-8 heading into the halftime break.
 
Emma Duchscherer netted the first goal of the second half, but the Penguins rallied off three in a row to swell their lead 16-9. After this score, the Gardner-Webb comeback started as they had seven of the next eight goals.
 
Rylee Gonzalez had the first score off an unassisted chance halfway through the third quarter. Aimie Perino finished off an opportunity from Gonzalez which was followed by Victoria Fischetti getting her first career goal. The score stood at 16-12 at the end of the third.
 
Preston got her first goal of the afternoon at the start of the fourth. The Penguins scored to end the scoring stretch, but GWU had a three-goal flurry to draw within one goal and a little over ten minutes to play. This was the closest the margin had been since the opening 15 minutes.
 
The Penguins netted a pair of goals, which GWU responded to with a pair of goals themselves after a pair of defensive stops to bring the score to 19-18 with under five minutes to play. Youngstown State won the next two draws and scored late in the clock to hang on for the win.
 
Preston led the team in all offensive categories behind her strong play in the final quarter. She netted a season-high seven points as she had a season-high four goals and dished three assists.
 
Gardner-Webb had a quartet of players also finish with three points during the afternoon. Perino had a season-high in goals as well as she finished with three. Brittany Sherrod and Gonzalez each netted two scores and dished an assist while Cornett had a goal and two assists. Lauren Connor and Bria Foley each finished with a pair of scores with Fischetti and Duchscherer each having one.
 
Grace Briggs had another strong defensive performance as she scooped three groundballs and caused four turnovers, her fourth time this season with at least three of each in a single game. Briggs also had a pair of draw controls to add to the team's 18 during the contest. Sherrod led the team in draws in eight and had two caused turnovers.
 
Reese Jones and Connor each had strong play in the midfield as they each had two groundballs and a caused turnover.
 
Danielle Burke played the full 60 minutes between the pipes for Gardner-Webb and faced 38 shots from the Penguins' attack. Burke made 12 saves during the contest and had three groundballs.  
 
Gardner-Webb will now have a 15-day break until their next game which will be the conference opener for the team. They start their Big South schedule by hosting the league's preseason favorite in Mercer on Wednesday, March 29 at 3:00 p.m.