University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Gardner-Webb
Bulldogs Battle But Fall to Top-Seeded Gardner-Webb, 76-64
03.12.2010 | Women's Basketball
HIGH POINT, N.C. - No. 1 seed Gardner-Webb used a 24-7 run in the final 8:44 to overcome a five-point deficit and defeat the No. 8 seeded UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 77-65, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Advance Auto Parts Women's Basketball Championship, Friday, March 12.
UNC Asheville was up 58-53 after Kelli Riles hit a jumper in the paint at the 8:44 mark. GWU later tied the game at 58-58 on Monique Hudson's fast break layup, and the Runnin' Bulldogs would go up by six with 5:09 remaining on Margaret Roundtree's free throws. UNC Asheville cut the lead to two at 66-64 at 4:06 on Chioma Okoli's free throws, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get. Gardner-Webb finished off Asheville with an 11-1 run the rest of the way to earn the victory.
"We were right there but just couldn't finish the game," commented Asheville coach Betsy Blose. "We threw a few wrinkles at Gardner-Webb and were able to slow them down a little bit during the game. However, Gardner-Webb is a great team and they found a way to win when they had to make plays.
"I was proud of our effort today," added Blose. "We were focused and ready to play from the start and almost pulled off the upset."
GWU's Monique Hudson was the story of the second half, as she scored 13 of her 16 points in the final 20 minutes to lead the charge. Gardner-Webb also held the Bulldogs to 31.0 percent shooting in the second half on 9-of-29 from the field, a contrast to the first half in which UNC Asheville shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29). Gardner-Webb out-rebounded Asheville in the second half by a 32-18 margin to finish the game with a 57-34 advantage on the boards.
Dominique Hudson led all scorers with 20 points, including 5-of-10 on three-point attempts. Courtney Epps posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Roundtree also had a double-double with 10 points and 15 boards. GWU finished 28-of-74 from the field ( =37.8 percent). Lindsey Montgomery led UNC Asheville with 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, and was one of four players to score in double figures, joining Kendall Shepard (13), Lindsey Thompson (12) and Okoli (10). It was Montgomery's Big South-leading 13th double-double of the season.
After Gardner-Webb opened the game with an early 3-0 lead at 19:25 on Epps' three-pointer, the Bulldogs countered with a 7-0 run the next 1:14 to move ahead by four. Asheville remained in control and held a one-point lead at 11-10 at the 13:41 mark. Gardner-Webb regained the lead when Dominique Hudson hit a three at 11:43 to make ahead by two, only to see Asheville's Montgomery tie it at 13-13 with a fast break layup. Gardner-Webb would stretch its lead to as much as six, going up 26-20 with 6:14 remaining in the first half.
But UNC Asheville would reel off an 18-4 run over the next five minutes. Montgomery tied the game again at 26-26 with a free throw, and two Thompson three-pointers gave the Bulldogs a four-point lead at 32-28 with 3:49 remaining. The duo would combine for another five points, with Thompson hitting another trey to give Asheville a 38-30 lead with 1:58 left. Gardner-Webb was able to cut the deficit before intermission on Dominique Hudson's fourth three-pointer of the first half that made the score 38-36 in favor of the eighth seed.
Dominique Hudson led all first half scorers with 14 points, including 4-of-6 from long range. LaTroya Pope had eight points, while Roundtree pulled down seven rebounds. For Asheville, Montgomery had a team-high 10 points and eight rebounds in the first stanza, followed by nine points from Thompson. The Bulldogs went 14-of-29 from the field ( =48.3 percent), compared to Gardner-Webb's 12-of-35 ( =34.3 percent). GWU out-rebounded UNC Asheville, 25-16.
"Gardner-Webb beat us up on the boards today," admitted Blose. "We've been a good rebounding team all year but today their second shots and extra possessions really hurt us."
