BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Nia Lee hit the game-winning free throws with 56 seconds left and Neydja Petithomme made it a five-point contest with an old-fashioned three-point play 39 seconds later as the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs topped Davidson, 54-49, in front of a packed house on Education Day.

This marks the second straight year that the Runnin' Bulldogs battled the Wildcats on Education Day and the second consecutive season that the 'Dogs have come away victorious. Gardner-Webb beat Davidson, 70-65, on the road on December 15, 2017.

Gardner-Webb (3-1) jumped out to a four-point lead at the end of the opening quarter and led by as many as six, 8-2, when Gabrielle Caponegro hit a pair of free throws. Caponegro's 16 points and 15 rebounds were both career highs for the Allenwood, N.J. native.

In the second, Davidson (2-1) pulled within two with 7:19 left until the half, but a Carley Plentovich three-pointer pushed Gardner-Webb's lead back to five, 20-15.

Although the Wildcats got within a single point late in the quarter, another C. Plentovich three-pointer made it a four-point game in favor of Gardner-Webb at the half, 28-24.

Plentovich scored 11 of her 16 points in the opening half, going 2-of-5 from deep and hitting 5-of-6 attempts at the free throw line over the first 20 minutes.

Davidson's Sarah Donovan recorded a double-double by the half, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

For 7:50 of the third quarter, Gardner-Webb would hold the lead, but after a Caponegro layup put the 'Dogs in front, 37-31, Davison embarked on a 7-0 run.

The Wildcats' run lasted 2:25 and ended when Jessica Lyon gave the 'Cats a 38-37 lead, but Lee would put the home team in front again just seconds later.

Davidson would tie the contest again, but Jesshyka Williams scored off a steal to give the 'Dogs a two-point cushion heading into the final period, 41-39.

Davidson scored the first four points of the final period, but Ky'Asia Stanford answered with four of her own to put the 'Dogs back in front with 3:23 on the clock.

That same sequence would happen again with less than two minutes remaining. Trailing by two, Stanford's jumper from just inside the three-point line in the corner tied the contest at 47.

Lee's free throws with under a minute put Gardner-Webb in front for good. With 17 seconds left, Petithomme's and-1 put the game out of reach, giving the 'Dogs a five-point lead, 52-47. Free throws by Caponegro with 7.8 seconds left would ice the game.

The Wildcats scored a meaningless layup with a mere two seconds left, and Gardner-Webb handed Davidson its first loss of the young season, 54-49.

Caponegro and C. Plentovich led all scorers with a game-high 16 points. Caponegro's  double-double was the first of her career. Donovan led Davidson with 12 points, all in the first half, and 15 rebounds, which were tied with Caponegro for a game-high.

It was a cold shooting contest for both teams with the Runnin' Bulldogs shooting just slightly better than the Wildcats. GWU hit 18-of-59 attempts (30.5 percent), while Davidson went 16-of-57 (28.1 percent) from the floor. Gardner-Webb held a 26-20 advantage in points in the paint and scored 14 points off turnovers, compared to 11 for Davidson. The Runnin' Bulldogs committed just 14 turnovers, while Davidson coughed the ball up 22 times.

Gardner-Webb will play its fourth and final home game of November on Monday, November 26 at 6 p.m. when the Pfeiffer Falcons come to town.