ROCK HILL, SC – A scoring drought of more than six minutes in the fourth quarter Tuesday cost the Winthrop women's basketball team as the Eagles fell 65-52 to the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs at the Winthrop Coliseum.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Winthrop (10-13, 6-6) came out strong on the offensive side, hitting four of its first five attempts from the field to go up 8-2 just under three minutes into the contest.  The Eagles shot 59 percent in the first quarter and held a 21-16 lead after the first 10 minutes as the two squads traded buckets for the last seven minutes of the period.

Neither side shot well in the second quarter but Gardner-Webb was able to slowly chip away at the Winthrop advantage.  The Bulldogs took their first lead of the contest at 26-25 with 3:20 left in the half.  Kayla Atkins gave the Eagles a one-point edge with 17 seconds left but a runner in the lane by Neydja Petithomme with four seconds on the clock gave Gardner-Webb at 30-29 lead at the break.

Gardner-Webb (13-11, 7-5) pushed its lead to five points early in the third quarter but the Eagles battled back on a 9-2 run to take a 40-38 lead with 5:48 on the clock.  Winthrop managed only one bucket over a five-minute stretch towards the end of the third quarter which allowed the Bulldogs to regain a lead and a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining gave Gardner-Webb a 49-44 lead heading into the final period.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles cut the Gardner-Webb lead down to two.  After that Winthrop hit a big scoring drought of more than six minutes as the Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run and went on for the 65-52 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Anika Riley led the Eagles with 16 points while Jah'Che Whitfield added 14 points.  Kem Nwabudu pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. 

After shooting 59 percent in the first quarter, the Eagles shot 39 percent for the game.  Gardner-Webb also shot 39 percent from the field.  Winthrop outrebounded the Bulldogs 39-36.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
Winthrop continues on a three-game homestand on Saturday when the Eagles welcome the UNC Asheville Bulldogs to the Winthrop Coliseum for a 2 p.m. tip.