BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Charleston Southern Buccaneers dropped their Big South Conference opener to Gardner-Webb at a score of 67-51. The loss drops CSU to an overall record of 6-8 (0-1, BSC). The win improves Gardner-Webb's record to 9-5 (1-0, BSC).

The Bucs held their own against the last year's Big South regular season conference Champions, but their size inside proved too much in the end.

GWU started tonight's contest off by opening the game on a 7-0 run in which they held the Buccaneers scoreless in the first four minutes of game time. That span also included four of the Runnin' Bulldogs seven total blocks on the night.

Both teams were careless with possession of the ball. CSU and GWU both committed season highs in turnovers. CSU committed 27 for the game and had 17 turnovers in the first half alone. Gardner-Webb had 23 turnovers for the game.

In the first half Charleston Southern had impressive production from their bench while most of their starters were held in check. In the first half 17 of Bucs' 28 points came from non-starters.

The Bucs also atypically outrebounded their opponent in the first half 22-15.

The score remained close throughout the first half of play. The largest lead for either team being seven points.

Gardner-Webb would go into the locker room at half with a five-point advantage at 33-28.

At the start of the second half it was apparent that the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb were making a concerted effort to take advantage of the size disparity between the two teams on the interior. The Runnin' Bulldogs made several tough contested turnaround shots in the post and began to further bolster their lead.

The only player scoring in double-figures for the Bucs was senior guard Katie Tull. Tull shot 3-of-6 from behind the arc.

Freshman Erin Bratcher tied a career-high in points with eight points. She went two-for-three from three.

The Bulldogs had four players in double-figures. Leading all scorers was Dominique Hudson who had 14 points.

The Bucs will face their second conference foe on Saturday when they travel to Rock Hill, S.C. to face the Eagles of Winthrop at 4:30 p.m.