Gardner-Webb advances to Big South tournament semifinal with win over UNC Asheville

It’s Gardner-Webb against the world this week in the Big South women’s basketball tournament in Charlotte.

The Bulldogs are flying in rare air, coming off the league’s first-ever 18-0 regular season and grabbing most of the Big South postseason awards.

The question is: Exactly how good is this team, and how far can it go?

Gardner-Webb looked the part Thursday, rolling past UNC Asheville 82-58 in a quarterfinal game at Bojangles Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (29-4), with their 19-game winning streak, will face Radford (14-16) at 6 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. They are two victories away from a tournament championship and the NCAA Tournament berth that many analysts are expecting from them.

Head coach Alex Simmons is doing what most coaches of 29-4 teams would do – concentrating on one game at a time. After all, the Bulldogs need to win the Big South tournament title to gain that NCAA berth.

“It’s ‘win games or bust,’ not ‘NCAA or bust,’ ” Simmons said Thursday to a reporter’s question. “We want to win every game we’re in, but we know the most important game is the next one.”

So assuming second seed High Point or one of the Big South’s other teams doesn’t find the secret potion to beating Simmons’ team, the next question is potential NCAA tournament seeding.

Three of the past five Big South champions got a 16 seed from the NCAA.

Gardner-Webb’s NET rating of 137 and a Strength of Schedule ranking of 309 suggest another 16 seed.

But several analysts’ NCAA tournament projections have the Bulldogs in the No. 14 slot.

Depending on how other conference tournaments unfold, Gardner-Webb seemingly would have a shot at the No. 13 line. Only twice in the past decade have Big South teams been seeded that high — Liberty in 2013 and again in ’15.

Then again, the Bulldogs have to get there.

On Thursday, Gardner-Webb managed to avoid the hiccup that sometimes befalls top-seeded teams in their first tournament games. The Bulldogs were never in trouble against UNC Asheville (11-19), maintaining a margin of around 10 points until pulling away in the fourth quarter.

“I look at every team we play as a fresh opponent,” Simmons said. “Even if we’ve played them before, I treat them as someone new.”

“We know we’re the No. 1 seed,” added Jhessyka Williams, a senior wing who scored a game-high 26 points. “We know we have to play like a favored team.”

Simmons knows a little about this NCAA tournament business. She played under legendary coach Pat Summitt at Tennessee and was a member of two national championship teams.

She said she knew last summer that Gardner-Webb could be very good this season.

“Actually, we’ve all been working since last May,” Williams said.

That includes the coaches.

“They might consider me old,” said Simmons, 36. “But I can still get out on the court and play a little. Everyone on our staff has coached at the higher levels, and some of them have played professionally.

“We get out there on the floor and work with the team. I think they appreciate that their coaches put in the work, like they do.”

Hmm … just how much game does Alex Simmons have left?

“A little,” said starting guard Alasia Smith, holding her thumb and forefinger an inch or two apart.

There’s another element to this Gardner-Webb team – one that players and coaches have not discussed in specifics.

“Nobody really knows what we’ve been through this season,” said Smith, who scored 16 points Thursday. “People look at our record and assume it’s been fun. But we’ve been through some things.”

Simmons, without going into specifics, said, “Everyone on our team has been through something. Yes, we’ve won a lot of games, but it seems like each of us has been through something traumatic off the court.”

Simmons also mentioned the off-the-court issues a few weeks ago, adding, “All of this probably has served to make us stronger. We’ve grown closer.”

Day 2 summary

The second game of Thursday’s women’s quarterfinals featured the tournament’s first buzzer-beating basket.

Ashlyn Traylor sank a soft floater as the buzzer sounded, lifting fourth seed Radford over fifth-seeded Presbyterian 69-68. Presbyterian had taken a 68-67 lead five seconds earlier when Christina Cline made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point try.

Winners in the evening women’s quarterfinals were No. 2 seed High Point and No. 3 Campbell. They’ll meet at 8 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals.

High Point overcame turnovers and spotty shooting, beating seventh seed USC Upstate 50-43. Skyler Curran led the Panthers with 16 points and made the 300th 3-pointer of her career. USC Upstate cut a double-digit deficit to five points with 1:13 left, but High Point converted five free throws down the stretch.

Campbell, which will leave the Big South for the Colonial Athletic Association in July, trounced sixth-seeded Longwood 62-43. Longwood made only 29.5 percent of its shots from the floor. Campbell had four players in double figures, led by Audrey Fuller with 14 points.

Friday will be devoted to the men’s teams, with Charlotte-area schools Gardner-Webb and Winthrop both in action.

Top-seeded UNC Asheville (24-7) opens the day at noon, meeting ninth seed Charleston Southern (10-20). At 2 p.m. fourth seed USC Upstate (15-14) meets No. 5 Gardner-Webb (15-15).

The evening doubleheader begins at 6 p.m., with second seed Longwood (20-11) meeting No. 7 Campbell (14-17), followed at 8 p.m. by third seed Radford (18-13) against No. 6 Winthrop (15-16).

This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 6:04 PM.