Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop beat defending conference champion Gardner-Webb for the first time in four seasons by a final score of 61-50 on Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.
Winthrop (9-10, 3-3 Big South) | Gardner-Webb (2-16, 1-4 Big South)
Jan. 20, 2024 | Winthrop Coliseum
Winthrop 61, Gardner-Webb 50
How it Happened
First Quarter | Winthrop trailed 16-5 nearly six minutes into the contest, as the Eagles could muster only two field goals.
Nyah Stallings hit a three-pointer with 4:26 remaining to cut it to eight on the next play but the Eagles would not score again until
Claudia Clement drained a short jumper at the buzzer to make it 18-10 in favor of the visitors after 10 minutes of play.
Second Quarter | Down 22-11 more than a minute in, a 12-3 run by Winthrop tied the game at 25 with five minutes left.
Ronaltha Marc had half of the Eagle points during the run. GW broke the tie with a triple two minutes later and then hit another three-point shot to go up six shortly after that while also holding the Eagles scoreless in the final five minutes of the frame. GW added one more free throw to take a 32-25 into the locker room.
Third Quarter | Winthrop quickly scored the first six points of the second half in a nearly two minute time span to tie it at 32. A layup by GW a minute later put them back in the lead and several plays later took a four-point lead at 36-32 at the 5:32 mark. Winthrop then cut the lead in half on the next play on a jumper from
Marissa Gasaway at the halfway point of the quarter but GW answered again with a basket nearly two minutes later. Down by this same score, an 11-4 run gave Winthrop their first lead of the game, taking a 45-42 lead at the end of the quarter.
Fourth Quarter | After a free throw by GW, five quick points by
Jada Ryce extended the Eagle lead to seven at 50-43 with eight minutes remaining, forcing a GW timeout. Winthrop also held GW without a field goal for the first five minutes of the quarter. GW ended their scoreless drought at the 4:50 mark on a layup to make the score 50-45 Winthrop but five quick points put the Eagles up 10 with 2:49 left. GW would score five of the next six points to make it a six-point contest inside of a minute but the Eagles would salt it away at the free throw line. The Eagles would go on to win it 61-50.
Statistical Standouts (Team)
- Winthrop moves to 607-901 all-time as a program.
- Winthrop moves to 206-370 in Big South regular-season games.
- Winthrop moves to 348-325 all-time at home.
- Leonor Paisana is now one three-pointer away from moving into the Top 10 in school history in career triples (83).
- Jada Ryce is one point away from 500 career points.
- Winthrop has surpassed their overall win total from last season.
- Winthrop defeated Gardner-Webb for the first time since a 64-62 result on Jan. 19, 2019 on the road, snapping a nine-game losing streak in the series.
- This is Winthrop's first home win vs. Gardner-Webb since an 81-62 result on Dec. 5, 2015.
- Winthrop outscored GW in the second, third and fourth quarters.
- Winthrop shot 42% for the game (53% in the third quarter).
- Winthrop made 66% of their free throws in the contest.
- Winthrop made 38% of their three-point attempts.
- Three Eagles played more than 30 minutes and got into double figures in scoring.
- This is Marc and Ryce's ninth game this season in double figures in scoring.
- This is Stallings's second game this season in double figures in scoring.
- Ryce also had a career-high in assists.
Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Ronaltha Marc (30 min, 6-14 FG, 5 rebounds, 13 pts)
Jada Ryce (32 min, 6 assists, 10 pts)
Nyah Stallings (28 min, 4-7 FG, 3-6 3FG, 13 pts)
Up Next
Winthrop stays put in Rock Hill, hosting Charleston Southern on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
FOLLOW US!
For all the up-to-date information on Winthrop Women's Basketball, follow along on Twitter at @WinthropWBB, Instagram at winthropwbb and Facebook at facebook.com/WinthropWBB.
