Runnin’ Bulldogs close final 47 seconds on a 7-0 run

CONWAY, S.C. (Nov. 26, 2021) – In a game that featured six lead changes in the final two minutes, the ETSU women’s basketball team couldn’t close things out as Gardner-Webb scored the final seven points to edge the Buccaneers 78-72 in the opener of the Coastal Carolina Thanksgiving Classic on Friday inside the HTC Center. 

STAT OF THE GAME

Jamir Huston (Cleveland, Ohio) made a pair of free throws to put ETSU back on top 67-66 with 2:17 remaining, marking the first of six lead changes down the stretch. Unfortunately, after a Jaila Roberts (Pensacola, Fla.) three-pointer put the Blue and Gold back up one with 56 seconds left, Gardner-Webb closed the game on a 7-0 run to secure its first win of the season. ETSU had two chances to either take the lead or tie the game in the final 40 seconds but came up empty. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME

The Bucs got a balanced scoring attack with eight players scoring at least two points and Roberts leading the way with 15 points (4-of-5 from beyond the arc), seven rebounds and two assists. 

Gardner-Webb’s Lauren Bevis scored a career-high 32 points on 9-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening six minutes of the contest was tightly contested, but with the game tied at eight, Gardner-Webb rattled off six straight points and eventually held a 20-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. Amaya Adams (Kansas City, Mo.), making her first start of the season, scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting in the first stanza. 

Gardner-Webb took momentum into the second quarter as they scored the first five points and held ETSU scoreless for the first five minutes and 36 seconds, but the Bucs battled back. Huston’s lay-up at the 4:24 mark ignited a run to close the quarter as ETSU scored 13 of the final 20 points, cutting its deficit to three at the break, 32-29. 

ETSU, who made its final four shots of the second quarter, extended the streak to seven consecutive makes in the third and used an 8-0 run to go up 37-32 following a Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) three with 8:25 left in the third quarter. 

But another cold stretch set in for the Blue and Gold. 

Following a jumper by Kaia Upton (Nashville, Tenn.) at the 5:33 mark, the Runnin’ Bulldogs used an 11-0 run to regain a 49-39 lead, forcing the Bucs to call timeout with three minutes left in the quarter. After trailing by as many as 11, ETSU cut its deficit to eight at the end of the third. 

The fourth quarter saw a lot of fireworks with 52 combined points, six ties and six lead changes. 

With Gardner-Webb leading by eight at the 8:13 mark, ETSU quickly chipped away at the deficit and scored eight unanswered over the next minute and 29 second seconds, pulling even at 56 following a pair of free throws by Moore. From there, the Bucs were able to tie things back up at 58 and 60, before taking the 67-66 lead on two made free throws by Huston with 2:17 left to play. 

Gardner-Webb then went back ahead by one with two freebies before Demi Burdick (Marshall, Ill.) answered with a lay-up at the 1:36 mark. Again, the Runnin’ Bulldogs responded as Lauren Bevis hit her ninth triple of the night, but Roberts followed suit with one of her own, giving ETSU the 72-71 advantage with less than a minute remaining. Gardner-Webb took the lead for good on two free throws with 47 ticks remaining and Upton missed a lay-up with just under 40 seconds to go. After the Runnin’ Bulldogs went 1-of-2 at the line, Roberts couldn’t tie it up when her jumper missed with 23 seconds remaining. The Bucs had to foul down the stretch and Gardner-Webb made four straight free throws to pick up the victory. 

NOTABLES

• ETSU, who entered the game averaging 55 points, scored a season-high 72.
• The Bucs’ 27 fourth-quarter points were the most in a single frame since netting 28 in the first quarter against Western Carolina on Feb. 6, 2020.
• ETSU shot a season-high 48 percent from the floor (27-of-56), while registering 42 points in the paint.
• Free throw and three-point shooting proved to be the difference maker … The Bucs went 13-of-23 at the free throw line and 5-for-13 from beyond the arc, while Gardner-Webb finished 21-of-25 at the stripe and 11-for-29 from long range.
• Amaya Adams made her first start of the season, tying her career high with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
• Carly Hooks and Jamir Huston accounted for 22 of ETSU’s 29 bench points … Hooks tallied 12 and Huston added 10 on 4-of-4 shooting.
• The Bucs outrebounded the Bulldogs by two, 38-36, with Roberts and Burdick each recording seven boards.
• Overall, the game had 14 lead changes and 12 ties. 

RECORDS UPDATE

• ETSU: 1-5
• Gardner-Webb: 1-4 

NEXT UP

ETSU closes out the Thanksgiving tournament by taking on host Coastal Carolina Sunday at 2 p.m. 

For more information on Buccaneer women’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s basketball page.