BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team (6-16, 3-5 Big South) battled throughout the night and led into the fourth quarter on Wednesday, before dropping a home contest to second-place Longwood (15-6, 6-2 Big South) by a final of 76-70

The opening minutes of the contest wouldn't tell the story on Wednesday night, as Longwood jumped out to a 9-3 lead within the first 2:30 of action. In what did turn out to be one of the best shooting nights of the season for GWU, the Runnin' Bulldogs ran off a 6-0 run out of a timeout to tie the game at 9-9 by the 6:06 mark of the first. When senior guard Nyla Walker banked in a long three at the horn, Gardner-Webb and Longwood were all tied at 19-19 through one

That back-and-forth action continued into the second, with neither side able to build a lead of more than four points. Gardner-Webb held Longwood mostly at bay, with the Lancers shooting just 5-of-15 in the second and missing all four three-pointers, while a couple of timely shots from the Dawgs helped keep things close. Junior guard Amina Gray found the range with 46 seconds to play in the second, ensuring Gardner-Webb a 32-31 lead at halftime

Gardner-Webb and Longwood battled to a 20-20 third quarter score, giving the Runnin' Bulldogs a one point lead entering the fourth. Gray opened the half with another huge three at 9:11, while redshirt senior guard Jaelyn Acker added five points in the frame. Graduate guard Anna Baraldi brought the crowd inside Paul Porter Arena to its feet with 6:00 to play, when the Rome, Italy native connected on a corner three for her first home basket as a Gardner-Webb player. Junior guard Anaya Harris finished a fast break with 30 seconds remaining, as the Runnin' Bulldogs led 52-51

A rough start to the fourth saw the visiting Lancers retake the lead, giving Gardner-Webb a 62-56 hole to try and climb out of over the final 5:14. Climb out of it they nearly did, with a short jumper by freshman guard Makayla Legette bringing GWU back within two,down 65-63 with 3:08 to play. Gardner-Webb found itself again down seven, 73-66, with 1:03 to go but again the Dawgs rallied. After a basket by Harris with 46 seconds left, Walker stole the Longwood inbound pass and found redshirt junior forward Kayla Martin underneath to give GWU a chance, down just 73-70. A series of Longwood free throws would ice the game though, as GWU fell 76-70 despite a valiant effort

LEADERS
Harris led Gardner-Webb with 17 points, three assists and three rebounds in 34 minutes, Gray scored 15 points with four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes, while Ofunniyin posted six points, five rebounds, and a season-high four steals

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Runnin' Bulldogs forced Longwood into 29 turnovers, including 16 for steals, while Gardner-Webb also shot a season-high 48.3% (29-of-60) from the floor overall, 10 of which came from three

UP NEXT
GWU returns to action on Saturday, January 31st at 2 pm at UNC Asheville