RADFORD, Va. – The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs fought back from an early deficit prior to halftime, but were unable to slow the Radford Highlanders, falling 79-69, on Tuesday night.

Gardner-Webb has now lost back-to-back games for the first time since December, while Radford has won its last seven contests. The Highlanders have not lost since suffering a 68-54 setback at Hampton on January 10.

The first two quarters were vastly different for the Runnin' Bulldogs, as Gardner-Webb hit just 4 of their 21 attempts in the opening quarter and trailed by 11, but managed to catch fire in the over the second set of 10 minutes.

Gardner-Webb (11-11, 5-5 Big South) got out of its shooting slump in the second quarter, making 10 of its 19 attempts in the period. The Runnin' Bulldogs slowly chipped away at Radford's lead, with Savannah Plentovich helping the 'Dogs get within three, 25-22, just prior to the halfway mark of the quarter.

Three minutes later, S. Plentovich hit another crucial bucket, cutting the Highlanders advantage to a single-point, 31-30, with 1:43 left until the half.

Gardner-Webb was unable to take the lead, however, as Radford went on an 8-2 run to end the period. Alexis Hueston's free throws were the Runnin' Bulldogs' only points during the run. At the half, Gardner-Webb trailed, 39-32.

Radford (15-6, 9-1 BSC) quickly re-built a double-digit less than two minutes into the third quarter, but Robyn Bouwer's layup would make it a two-possession game, 43-37, still in favor of the Highlanders.

The Highlanders went on a 14-5 run in under five minutes to take a 15-point lead, 57-42, which would be their largest of the night. Bouwer and Ky'Asia Stanford accounted for Gardner-Webb's points during the run, and six different players scored for Radford during that span.

Trailing by 13 entering the final period, the Runnin' Bulldogs managed to cut into nearly half of Radford's advantage. Gabrielle Caponegro's layup with 5:11 remaining made it an eight-point game, and after Radford pushed its lead back to 10, S. Plentovich would knock down a triple to make it 72-65 in favor of RU with 2:22 to go.

Despite slicing into Radford's lead, the Runnin' Bulldogs fell by 10, 79-69, to conclude a two-game road trip.

S. Plentovich and Stanford paced Gardner-Webb with 16 points each. Hueston made her second consecutive start and scored nine points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and four steals. The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 38.4 percent (28-of-73) but were handily outrebounded by the Highlanders, 54-36.

Radford's Destinee Walker led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Walker shot just 5-of-18 from the field but went a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line. Two other Highlanders – Lydia Rivers (14 points) and Sydney Nunley (13 points) scored in double figures. Rivers collected a game-high 15 rebounds for a double-double. The Highlanders made 41.3 percent (26-of-63) of their shots.

Gardner-Webb will look to get back on track by avenging an overtime loss to Longwood that happened last Saturday. The Lancers and Runnin' Bulldogs are set to battle for the second time in a seven-day span on Saturday, February 9. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. from Boiling Springs, N.C.