BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Jhessyka Williams scored 25 of her career-high 29 points in the second-half to lead Gardner-Webb to a comeback win over the Charleston Southern Bucs, 75-65, on Tuesday night.

Gardner-Webb (11-9, 5-3 Big South) trailed by nine at the half after giving up 28 points to the Bucs in the second period and scoring just 11 of its own.

The second quarter was a vastly different story than the opening 10 minutes which saw the Runnin' Bulldogs take a 15-7 lead and limit Charleston Southern to just three first quarter field goals.

Charleston Southern (5-14, 2-6 BSC) led 35-26 at the intermission but was outscored by 27 points over the final two quarters.

After the Bucs took a double-digit just 38 seconds into the third period, Gardner-Webb used 16-5 run to pull within a point. Williams scored six of the Runnin' Bulldogs' 11 points during the run. Her three-pointer with 4:25 remaining made it a 40-39 game in favor of the Bucs.

CSU extended its lead back to five, but another Gardner-Webb run, this one a 5-0 spurt capped off by a Neydja Petithomme triple, tied the contest at 44-all.

Williams gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a short-lived lead via a three-pointer off a pass from Savannah Plentovich with 1:02 remaining, but the Bucs held a narrow 50-48 lead heading into the final quarter. However, the 'Dogs would score 27 points over the final 10 minutes while limiting Charleston Southern to just 15.

Williams single-handedly matched the Bucs' point total in the fourth, scoring 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe en route to her career-night.

The freshman gave GWU at 51-50 lead with 9:20 remaining and her layup 40 seconds later extended the Runnin' Bulldogs' lead to three.

It was not until under the three-minute mark that GWU began to pull away from the visiting Bucs. With 2:24 left in the contest, Charleston Southern's Ke'Asia Jackson made it a two-point contest, 62-60, but Gardner-Webb outscored the Bucs by eight points over the final minutes on its way to victory number 11 of the season.

15 seconds after Jackson's layup, Carley Plentovich began a 13-5 Runnin' Bulldogs run in which only herself and Williams scored. C. Plentovich scored five of Gardner-Webb's final 13 points, while Williams scored the other eight – four at the free throw line and four off layups.

Williams missed just two shots from the floor all night, going 9-for-11 and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Augusta, Ga. native took 12 free throws and made eight. It was her fourth consecutive game in double figures.

For Gardner-Webb, Carley Plentovich, the reigning Big South Conference Player of the Week, contributed 14 points, while Ky'Asia Stanford scored 12 points – 10 of which came in the first half – and dished out six assists.

Charleston Southern was led by Jackson who fell four points shy of Williams' total. Jackson scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and went 4-of-16 from the free throw line. Breannah Bretches was the only other CSU player in double figures. She contributed 12 points.

The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 51 percent (25-of-49) from the floor and won the rebounding battle, 34-27. Charleston Southern shot 49 percent, also making 25 shots but attempting 51.

The Runnin' Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, February 2 at Longwood. Both of Gardner-Webb's contests against the Lancers will happen in a seven-day span as Longwood will come to Boiling Springs the following Saturday. Tipoff of Saturday's game is set for 3 p.m. in Farmville, Va.