BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb used a strong second half to run past Charleston Southern, 68-52, on Saturday at Paul Porter Arena.

CSU falls to 7-10, 2-4 following the defeat, while Gardner-Webb improves to 13-5, 3-3 with the win. Shauntavia Dobson led the Bucs with 17 points, while Weknyne Dumorne added 13 points and eight rebounds.

"We played a very good team," head coach Fred Applin said. "It's always a good game when we play against Gardner-Webb. It was a physical game, but I felt my team competed today and we just got out-rebounded."

With the teams tied 28-28 at halftime, Gardner-Webb stepped up the pace in the third quarter and stormed ahead 34-30 on a Savannah Plentovich three-pointer. The Bucs fired back with a 7-0 run that was capped off with a Dumorne jumper to grab a 37-30 lead with 5:59 left in the period. The Runnin' Bulldogs responded with a 10-1 run of their own to close the third frame with a 44-38 advantage.

Gardner-Webb had its lead grow to 50-40 on Morgan Painter's layup with 5:54 remaining in the game. The Bucs chipped away at the lead and cut it to 50-46 on a Dumorne layup.  A 9-2 run for the Runnin' Bulldogs created some separation as GWU led 59-48 with 1:31 to go. Gardner-Webb made 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the final minute as it closed out the win.

"We are going to get better," Applin said. "Our players understand that this is a tough conference and every team is different, but we can compete with them."

Tierra Huntsman led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Alexus Hill added 14 points and eight rebounds.

A back-and-forth first half saw CSU grab an early 9-7 lead on a Dobson trifecta. Gardner-Webb went on an 11-0 run to take a commanding 18-9 lead before Dobson knocked down another trey with 26 seconds left to trim the Runnin' Bulldogs lead to 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.

"Dobson is one of the players who is going to give it her all," Applin said. "She's our little spark plug and she comes in and plays with confidence. She wants to win."

A Hill layup put GWU ahead 22-15 before both teams went cold from the field for the next three minutes. Njeri Nelms' jumper ended the drought and cut the lead to 22-19 with 5:34 to play in the period. Hill connected on a jumper to give Gardner-Webb a 28-22 lead, but the Bucs closed the quarter with six straight points as Nelms' two free throws with six seconds left tied the game 28-28 at halftime.

Inside the Numbers

• Shauntavia Dobson connected on 5-of-11 from behind the three-point arc as she continues to lead CSU with 36 three-pointers made this season.
• Weknyne Dumorne's 13 points was the first time she had scored in double-figures since scoring 15 points at Liberty on January 2.
• Billed as a battle on the boards heading into the game with two of the top rebounding teams in the league, Gardner-Webb held a 46-33 advantage on the boards.
• Gardner-Webb shot the light out from the free throw line with the Runnin' Bulldogs going 15-of-17 (88.2%) from the line, while the Bucs shot 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the charity stripe.
• Gardner-Webb's second ranked scoring offense in the Big South put up the most points on CSU since Georgia Tech scored 78 points against the Bucs on December 19. 

News and Notes

• CSU is still searching for its first Big South road win.
• The Bucs suffered their first loss to Gardner Webb in the last four meetings.
• Charleston Southern has dropped four of its last five Big South contests.
• Paced by the Big South's leading shot blocker in Weknyne Dumorne, CSU has now had more blocks than its opponent in three of its last four games.

Up Next
Charleston Southern returns home for a matchup with UNC Asheville on Tuesday at 7 p.m.