GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team is back on the road on Friday night off the back of back to back home wins, visiting UNC Greensboro for a key non-conference match-up

GAME INFORMATION
Game 7: Gardner-Webb (2-4) at UNC Greensboro (1-3)
Location: Bodford Arena, Greensboro N.C.
Stream: ESPN Plus
Tip-Off: 7:00 pm
Series History: GWU leads 4-3
Previous Meeting: 2023

SERIES HISTORY: On Friday night, UNC Greensboro and Gardner-Webb meet for the eighth time in series history. Gardner-Webb lost the first matchup in Greensboro in 2012. The two other UNCG wins in the series in 2014 and 2023 bookend four straight GWU wins, giving the Runnin' Bulldogs an edge of 4-3 all-time. GWU has allowed more than 70 points in just one of the eight games

A BRAND NEW ERA: With a 55-35 win over Hampton on November 16th, head coach Terri Williams delivered her first win with the program. Williams has a a career that spans nearly 300 wins as an NCAA Division I head coach, including previous stops at Georgetown and Auburn and multiple trips to the NCAA Tournament prior to Gardner-Webb

PRESS TO RUN: Gardner-Webb has been able to ride its defense through the first five games, and nowhere has that been more clear than the Runnin' Bulldogs 55-35 win over Hampton. After holding Virginia Tech to just 37% from the deck on November 13th, GWU held Hampton to an eye-watering 21.2% (11-of-52) from the field and 14.8% (4-of-27) from three. GWU comes into Friday night allowing only 64.7 points per game after holding UNCW to 36.7% overall (18-of-49) and forcing 31 turnovers mid-week

BACK IN ELITE FORM: Arriving from Furman this offseason, redshirt senior guard Jaelyn Acker has been revitalized this season. The Richfield, Wisconsin native scored 11.5 points per game as a freshman at Furman and was a Southern Conference All-Freshman team selection in 2022-23 before being limited over the next two seasons due to injury. So far at Gardner-Webb, Acker has found her form at 9.2 points per game on a team-best 42.4% from three point range, 14-of-33 entering Friday night

WELCOME HOME: After a couple seasons off the bench at Maryland Eastern Shore, junior forward Amira Ofunniyin has returned to her home state of North Carolina to anchor the post for Gardner-Webb so far this season. The Raleigh, NC native is averaging a career-best in minutes (24.8), points per game (10.3) and rebounds per game (8.3), and posted the best game of her career on Wednesday night against UNCW, scoring 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting with a team-high eight rebounds

SENIOR LEADER: Senior guard Nyla Walker is the most significant returning player for Gardner-Webb from a season ago in nearly every statistical category. The Frankfort, Illinois native has delivered as well, scoring 12.0 points per game across 28.2 minutes, all of the bench, including a career-high 23 at West Georgia on November 8th

ON THE SCENE: The breakout star for Gardner-Webb against Hampton was junior guard Amina Gray, who exploded late to help Gardner-Webb put the game away. Gray scored 18 points, her most in a game for nearly two years, shot 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three, and had 14 of her team-high 18 in the fourth quarter. She followed that performance up with 16 points against UNC Wilmington on Wednesday night

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: UNC Greensboro reached the NCAA Tournament off the back of a 25-7 record a season ago, but is just 1-3 to open 2025-26 with losses at Stanford, San Francisco and Auburn. However, the Spartans rebounded from a difficult opening schedule to defeat Presbyterian 57-53 on November 14th and score their first win of the season