FARMVILLE, Va. — Gardner-Webb shot nearly 53 percent in the second half, coming all back from seven points down midway through the second quarter to nip the Longwood women's basketball team, 53-51, in Big South action at the Joan Perry Brock Center on Wednesday.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (11-16, 8-5) received a game-high 16 points and four 3-pointers from Amina Gray and won for the fifth consecutive game, while also breaking a four-game Longwood winning streak in the series.
Gray drained a trey at the 8:57 mark of the fourth quarter to give GWU lead, which expanded to as many nine at 49-40, on a Nyla Walker triple midway through the period.
Longwood (18-8, 9-4) rallied to within 51-46 with just over three minutes remaining as Jasmine Peaks hit a a floater in the lane, but Walker responded with a steal and layup 30 seconds later. Amor Harris grabbed an offensive rebound and knocked in a jumper with 55 seconds on the clock to make it 53-48. Peaks then split a pair from the line and Malea Brown intercepted a Jaelyn Acker pass and Harris made a jumper with three seconds left.
That was as close as the Lancers got.
"One game doesn't define us," Longwood head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery said. "And so, whether we win or lose, I just told [the team] the next thing is to get back to work. And so we get back to work, working on our execution. Obviously the zone bothered us tonight, and we didn't make shots. And so I think they do a great job of getting shots up to prepare for it, but we've got to be able to knock them down in game situations.
"Kudos to them," Lang-Montgomery said of Gardner-Webb. "I thought they had a really good game plan that they stuck with. They made some big shots late game, and that gave them the advantage."
Brown led Longwood with 15 points, adding five rebounds and two steals on the night. She now has 215 steals in her Longwood career to move in sole possession of 10th place all-time in the category for the Lancers.
Peaks collected 14 points, five boards, four assists and two steals. Otaifo Esenabhalu pulled down 10 rebounds, the junior's 32nd double-digit board performance of her career.
Longwood earned a 43-34 advantage on the glass and converted 23 Gardner-Webb turnovers into 29 points.
The Lancers are back on the road road Saturday at USC Upstate. Tip time on ESPN+ is set for 2 p.m.
