JOHNSON CITY, TENN. - The No. 4 seed Gardner-Webb women's basketball team begins its run in the postseason on Thursday afternoon, taking on No. 5 seed Winthrop in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Air Force Reserve Big South Tournament

GAME INFORMATION
Game 31: No. 4 Gardner-Webb (12-18, 8-6 Big South) vs No. 5 Winthrop (14-16, 7-9 Big South)
Location: Freedom Hall Civic Center - Johnson City, Tenn.
Stream: ESPN Plus
Tip-Off: 2:00 pm
Talent: Mike Gleason, Tamika Catchings

THE BRACKET: Gardner-Webb, after a 9-7 record in league play, arrives in Johnson City as the No. 4 seed. By virtue of a regular-season sweep of the Eagles and a buzzer-beating win at UNC Asheville that propelled a five-game winning streak, Gardner-Webb finished two games clear of 7-9 Winthrop and UNC Asheville. The GWU/WU winner will move on to face the winner of No. 1 High Point vs No. 8 USC Upstate on Saturday evening

THE MATCH-UP: Gardner-Webb and Winthrop meet for the third time this season on Thursday afternoon. The Runnin' Bulldogs won both match-ups, defeating the Eagles 54-48 in Rock Hill back on December 31st, then scoring a 72-69 win in Boiling Springs on February 7th

LAST TIME OUT: The Runnin' Bulldogs closed the regular season with a 65-59 loss at home to Radford. Gardner-Webb did end the regular season in good form however, winning six of its final eight games, highlighted by a five-game winning streak between January 30th and February 18th

COACH OF THE YEAR: Named Big South Co-Coach of The Year, Terri Williams instituted a turnaround that saw Gardner-Webb become one of the most formidable defensive teams in the Big South Conference, leading to an improvement in totals across the board in her first season at the helm. With 12 wins overall, 9 wins in league play and a No. 4 seed, the Runnin' Bulldogs won the most games and achieved the program's highest finish since 2022-23

SHARP SHOOTER: Named to both the Big South Conference All-Second and All-Academic teams, junior guard Amina Gray emerged for the first time in her college career into one of the best shooters in the Big South Conference. After playing in just 22 games combined as a freshman and sophomore, Gray started all 30 for Gardner-Webb this season with a team-high 30.8 minutes per game, team-high .380% from three overall, and a team-high 12.8 points per game

FABULOUS FRESHMAN: Named to the Big South Conference All-Freshman team, freshman guard Makayla Legette has proven to be one of the best all-around, up and coming players in the Big South. Leading the league in minutes among freshmen and the starting point guard during Terri Williams' first season at GWU, Legette started all 30 games for Gardner-Webb with an average of 28.8 minutes per contest, with 6.1 points, 3.26 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.56 steals per game

PRESS TO RUN: The strength of the Runnin' Bulldogs team in 2025-26 has been its defense. Under the guidance of Williams, Gardner-Webb went from allowing over 70 points per game last season, to just 62.6 in 2025-26, including just 58.3 in league play- the third-best mark in the Big South. GWU also ranked third in the Big South for steals in the regular season with an average of 10.6 per game