BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Back inside Paul Porter Arena for the first time in over a week, the Gardner-Webb women's basketball team returns action in non-conference play against Western Carolina

GAME INFORMATION
Game 12: Western Caroina (2-9) at Gardner-Webb (2-9)
Location: Paul Porter Arena - Boiling Springs, N.C.
Stream: ESPN Plus
Tip-Off: 2:00 pm
Series History: GWU leads 5-2 (NCAA Division I era)
Previous Meeting: 2024 - Gardner-Webb 73, Western Carolina 65

THE MATCH-UP: On Saturday afternoon, Gardner-Webb and Western Carolina meet for the 16th time all-time, and 8th time as NCAA Division one opponents. In the Runnin' Bulldogs D1 era, GWU holds an 5-2 lead in the series, winning each of the last five in a row, including a 73-65 victory in Cullowhee last December. Westen Carolina won all eight meetings before Gardner-Webb made the jump to Division I, all between 1980 and 1983

IN RHYTHM: One of the biggest stories of the season for Gardner-Webb has been the emergence of junior guard Amina Gray. After playing limited minutes in 2024-25, Gray has become one of the Runnin' Bulldogs most reliable offensive weapons, scoring 10.8 points per game and over 14.5 points per 40 minutes, including 22 points against Appalachian State on December 1st, her most ever in a game for GWU

STAR FRESHMAN: Through nine games, Gardner-Webb has also seen big minutes from freshman guard Makayla Legette. A former prep star in South Carolina, Legette is scoring 6.7 points per game, adding 2.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds to go along with it. The Latta, S.C. native is also first in the Big South Conference among freshmen, averaging 29.1 minutes per game and is also second league-wide for freshmen in assists per game

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 (25.0), points per game (9.1) and rebounds per game (7.3), and posted the best game of her career on November 19th against UNCW, scoring 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting with a team-high eight rebounds

STRENGTH IN THE HOME GAME: To this point in the 2025-26 season, Gardner-Webb has played four three home games, winning two; 55-35 over Hampton on November 16th and 65-56 over UNC Wilmington on November 19th. Dating back to last season, the Runnin' Bulldogs have won seven of their last eleven games inside Paul Porter Arena, doing so by a mark of 10.8 points per game

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS: Under second year head coach Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina is coming off its best season in a decade, winning 13 games a year ago. The Catamounts are 2-9 to begin 2025-26, so far with wins over Virginia-Lynchburg and Tusculum. WCU is one of the better teams in the country at getting to the free throw line, placing top 25 in the nation to this point in the season for makes (160) and attempts (224)