2023–24 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs women's basketball team explained

Sport:women's basketball
Prev Year:2022–23
Year:2023–24
Team:Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
Conference:Big South Conference
Short Conf:Big South
Record:6–24
Conf Record:5–11
Head Coach:Scott Merritt
Hc Year:1st
Asst Coach1:Katie Nelson
Asst Coach2:Lauren Holden
Asst Coach3:Jonath Nicholas
Arena:Paul Porter Arena

The 2023–24 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs women's basketball team represented Gardner–Webb University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Runnin' Bulldogs, were led by first-year head coach Scott Merritt, played their home games at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, North Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.

Previous season

The Runnin' Bulldogs finished the 2022–23 season 29–5, 18–0 in Big South play, to finish as Big South regular season champions.[1] In the Big South tournament, they defeated UNC Asheville,[2] Radford,[3] and High Point to win the Big South tournament championship and earning the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.[4] They received the #15 seed in the Greenville Regional 2.[5] They would end up losing to #2 region seed Utah in the first round.[6]

On April 6, head coach Alex Simmons announced that she would be stepping down, after 5 seasons at the helm, in order to take the head coaching position at Memphis.[7] On April 22, the school named Wisconsin associate head coach Scott Merritt the team's next head coach.[8]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| Big South regular season|-!colspan=12 style=|Big South tournament|-Sources:[9] [10]

Notes and References

  1. News: 2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings. Big South Conference. January 12, 2024. en.
  2. News: No. 1 Gardner-Webb Rolls Past No. 8 UNC Asheville in Quarterfinals of 2023 Hercules Tires Big South Basketball Championships. Gardner-Webb University Athletics. January 12, 2024. en.
  3. News: Women's Basketball's Valiant Effort to Upend Gardner-Webb Comes Up Just Short in Big South Semifinals. Radford University Athletics. January 12, 2024. en.
  4. News: Hughes . Joe L II . March 5, 2023 . Dancin' Dogs: Gardner-Webb women's basketball wins Big South, NCAA Tournament berth . January 12, 2024 . . en.
  5. News: 2023 Division I Women's Basketball Official Bracket. NCAA.com. January 12, 2024. en.
  6. News: Coon . John . March 18, 2023 . Pili, 2nd-seeded Utah dominate Gardner-Webb in March Madness . January 12, 2024 . AP News . en.
  7. News: Munz . Jason . April 6, 2023 . Memphis women's basketball hires Alex Simmons, reigning Big South Coach of the Year . January 12, 2024 . . en.
  8. News: Stewart . Mark . April 22, 2023 . Scott Merritt leaves Wisconsin to become Gardner-Webb head women's basketball coach . January 12, 2024 . . en.
  9. News: 2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule. Gardner-Webb University Athletics. January 12, 2024. en.
  10. News: Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule. ESPN. January 12, 2024. en.