FARMVILLE, VA - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team (11-16, 8-5 Big South) continued its best stretch of the season on Wednesday night, defeating Longwood (18-8, 9-4 Big South) for a fifth straight win

As they have for most of the season, Gardner-Webb relied on its defense to score a fifth win in a row. The Runnin' Bulldogs held Longwood to just 19-of-66 from the floor (28.8%), 4-of-27 from three (14.8%) and into 17 turnovers. All this includes holding the Lancers to only 23 points in the first half.

Offense was again at a premium but the Runnin' Bulldogs made the most of its chances. Junior guards Amina Gray and Anaya Harris were big early for the Dawgs, with the duo combining for nine first quarter points. Behind the efforts of both, GWU jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the opening frame

Longwood built a slim 23-20 halftime lead but GWU used some timely shooting to stay in the contest. With Gardner-Webb down seven, redshirt senior guard Jaelyn Acker nailed a clutch three with 4:56 to play in the third. That shot brought the Runnin' Bulldogs back to within 20-16, and was only the second made three of the contest for the Red and Black

Despite the low-scoring game, Gardner-Webb found its offensive footing in the second half with 16 points in the third and 17 points in the fourth. Perhaps no sequence was bigger than 5:55 to 5:27 of the third, when again down seven, Gray and freshman forward Sara Menendez went back-to-back from long range. Suddenly, GWU was down just 31-30. Another great play by Gray, a steal and a layup in the final seconds, had the Dawgs with 38-36 heading to the fourth

And in the fourth, Gardner-Webb took over. Over the opening 5:30 of the fourth quarter, the Runnin' Bulldogs stretched out a 13-2 run, capped by trio of three pointers and baskets from five different players for a 49-40 lead. The Dawgs were scoreless over the final 2:30 of the contest but a nine-point lead held and time ran out on Longwood, as Gardner-Webb won 54-52

LEADERS
Gray posted 16 points with four made threes, Harris pitched in with 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, and senior guard Nyla Walker added five huge points all in the fourth quarter as well as three steals

AROUND THE LEAGUE
With a win, Gardner-Webb solidifies its hold on the No. 4 seed in the Big South. The Runnin' Bulldogs now set sights on Longwood and Radford over the final three games, with the teams tied at 9-4 in the league and one game ahead

UP NEXT
Gardner-Webb welcomes league-leading High Point to Paul Porter Arena on Saturday afternoon, February 21st, aiming for a sixth win in a row