BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Senior guard Ashley Hawkins rewrote the Gardner-Webb and Big South Conference record books on Friday afternoon inside Paul Porter Arena, scoring a school and league record 47 points as GWU fell in a triple overtime heart-breaker to Queens, 99-97

The Runnin' Bulldogs got off to a blistering start on Friday afternoon in Boiling Springs, putting together one of its best quaters of the season to take a 22-12 lead after 10 minutes of play. As would become the story later on, Hawkins led the way early with eight points for GWU but there were key contributors elsewhere as well, including junior guard Nyla Walker who recorded an early steal and a fast break layup as the 'Dawgs went up double digits.

GWU kept the pedal down into the second quarter as well, eventually heading into halftime ahead 37-26. Hawkins managed the last seven points of the first half to bring herself to 23 at the break to lead all scorers. To beat the buzzer, the Long Beach, Calif. native managed to get a tough runner to go in the lane and put the Runnin' Bulldogs up by 11. Queens would come as close as four in the second stanza but a 7-0 run to finish out the frame assured Gardner-Webb its lead. Sophomore guard Elle Blatchford posted some her best minutes in the second, going back-to-back from three for the 'Dawgs.

Queens began to inch back in the third, but enough tough buckets assured the Runnin' Bulldogs a 51-44 lead through 30 minutes. Hawkins was again in takeover mode, at one point pacing GWU with five straight points and even knocking down one of three triples to briefly put the Runnin' Bulldogs up by double digits. Walker also continued to be a spark plug for the Runnin' Bulldogs with a fast-break jumper to break a GWU scoring drought in the middle of the stanza.

An ordinary contest become extraordinary late in the fourth, with Hawkins first tying a career-high in points as GWU tried to cling to a late lead. All looked to be briefly lost with under 15 seconds to go when the visiting Royals finally broke through for the lead, but an and-one by Hawkins who was then mobbed by her teammates under the basket flipped the script again to put Gardner-Webb ahead 71-69. With five seconds on the clock, Queens would advance the ball, inbound and knock down a turnaround jumper just before the horn to send us to overtime tied at 71.

One overtime period wouldn't be enough, as Gardner-Webb and Queens would settle the contest across three OTs. Hawkins continued to be the star for the Runnin' Bulldogs, knocking down a tough layup at the buzzer of the first OT to tie the game at 80. Down to just eight players for the game to start, Gardner-Webb would eventually be saddled with just five available players in the last two OT periods and that's where both sophomore guards Lauren Bailey and Amina Gray stepped up in a huge way. With 1:59 left in the second overtime, Bailey connected on a long three to tie the game at 86. The Runnin' Bulldogs held defensively from there to force a third overtime, where Gray brought GWU level at 97 with 11 seconds remaining. While these big contributions happened, Hawkins scored her final points in between with another strong layup through contact, getting to both a Gardner-Webb and Big South Conference all-time record 47 points.

This game wasn't without even more fireworks however, as Queens advanced the ball and beat the buzzer with a turnaround layup just before time expired, defeating the Runnin' Bulldogs 99-97 in one of the longest games in program history.

Hawkins would finish the game for Gardner-Webb with 47 points, 15 made field goals, 14 made free throws, six rebounds, five assists and six steals across a career-high 52 minutes. Five of eight players for GWU finished in double figures, including 13 from Blatchford, 10 from Walker, 10 from Bailey and 10 from freshman guard Kendall Scott.