After a double-digit loss this past weekend at Old Dominion, the FGCU women’s basketball team returned home and defeated the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs 102-53 on Dec. 7.
It was a collective effort from the team, as five Eagles had double figures in points, with redshirt junior Emani Jefferson leading the team with 18 points.
The Eagles started hot in the first quarter with a 16-0 run and took a commanding 23-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The momentum continued as the Eagles’ offense had 26 points in the second quarter in contrast to the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ 12 points. With only 16 field goal attempts, the Eagles made 11 of those for around 69%.
The second half was the same for the Eagles as they scored 27 and 26 points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. The Eagles had 29 field goal attempts across the final two quarters, as they averaged about 55% shooting.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs improved, as they scored 18 points in each of the final two quarters, but it was never enough to catch up to the Eagles. As the game came to a close, FGCU ended it with its largest lead of the night, a 49-point advantage.
The Eagles dominated the paint, scoring 52 points to the Runnin’ Bulldogs 12 points. FGCU shot about 55% from the field, while Gardner-Webb only shot about 33%.
FGCU played this game very disciplined, with only 10 fouls committed compared to Gardner-Webb’s 22. The Eagles also had the advantage in ball security with only 11 turnovers compared to 18 from the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
This was FGCU’s third meeting against Gardner-Webb, the first meeting at Alico Arena. The Eagles have defeated the Runnin’ Bulldogs in all of their previous meetings. Gardner-Webb has been winless this season as they dropped to 0-8 after the loss to the Eagles.
In the AP Poll, FGCU received four votes this week. This was a decrease from ten votes last week after the Old Dominion loss.
FGCU has another big road game next as they head to Durham to take on the Duke Blue Devils tomorrow. FGCU hosts Drexel and Southern Miss in the Homewood Suites Classic at Alico Arena on Dec. 20 and 21.
