BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team looks to make it six straight wins on Saturday afternoon and continue its late-season climb up the Big South Conference standings when the Runnin' Bulldogs host league-leading High Point

GAME INFORMATION
Game 28: High Point (23-4, 12-2 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (11-16, 8-5 Big South)
Location: Paul Porter Arena - Boiling Springs, N.C.
Stream: ESPN Plus
Tip-Off: 2:00 pm
Series History: HPU leads 24-20
Previous Meeting: January 23rd - HPU, 73-44

THE MATCH-UP: High Point and Gardner-Webb meet in the return match-up in Boiling Springs, having faced off in High Point just three weeks ago. High Point controlled the first meeting from the jump, eventually pulling away to beat Gardner-Webb, 73-44

LAST TIME OUT: Gardner-Webb made it five straight wins on Wednesday night at Longwood, 53-51. Gardner-Webb relied on its defense, holding 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

WINNING STREAK: Gardner-Webb takes its longest winning streak since the 2022-2023 season back home on Saturday afternoon seeking to add a sixth consecutive win. The Runnin' Bulldogs posted a program record 21 straight wins during the 2022-23 season, with the first six of that streak coming between December and January of that season at the start of Big South play

PRESS TO RUN: Speaking of defense, GWU has been exceptional during its active winning streak. Over the last five games, the Runnin' Bulldogs are allowing an astronomically low 53.2 points per game. This goes back to before the beginning of the winning streak as well, with the Dawgs having allowed more than 70 points only twice since the start of Big South play

BIG MINUTES: In the win at Presbyterian on Saturday, junior guard Anaya Harris shot 7-of-11 from the floor, 8-of-10 at the line, along with four steals and two assists. Against CSU last Wednesday, Harris scored just six points but also had four rebounds in 23 minutes. For the week, the Raleigh, N.C. native averaged 14 points per game on 10-of-19 shooting overall

BIG MINUTES: Freshman forward Sara Menendez has been huge for Gardner-Webb in the midst of the recent winning streak. In 20 minutes last Wednesday in a win against Charleston Southern, Menendez scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from long range, all in the fourth quarter. She then added nine points on 4-of-5 shooting total in 21 minutes in the win at Presbyterian. For the week, Menendez shot 8-of-11 overall, 4-of-7 from three, and averaged 10 points per game

AROUND THE LEAGUE: At 8-5 in the Big South and currently the No. 4 seed, Gardner-Webb has now built a full two game lead over 6-7 Charleston Southern 6-7  Winthrop. The Runnin' Bulldogs hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over each in the event of a tie in the final standings, while also attempting to chase down 9-4 Radford and 9-4 Longwood, who remain tied for second place