BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – A 10-4 run by the Runnin' Bulldogs in the opening minutes of the fourth period slammed the door on a USC Upstate comeback effort as Gardner-Webb defeated the visiting Spartans by a 63-53 score in Big South Conference action Saturday afternoon inside Paul Porter Arena.
 
Gardner-Webb (8-8, 3-4 Big South) held a six-point lead on USC Upstate (6-11, 1-7 Big South) as the final stanza began after leading by 13 points at halftime, but a three-pointer by Savannah Plentovich, followed by a Upstate turnover and layup by Jhesskya Williams put GWU back on top by double digits at 44-33 with 8:48 on the clock.
 
GWU pushed its lead up to 12 points with 6:26 to go as Carley Plentovich connected from long distance to set the score at 49-37, effectively sealing the contest for the Runnin' Bulldogs who would go on to win by a 63-53 score.
 
For the afternoon, Gardner-Webb took advantage of USC Upstate's 27 turnovers, as they led to 26 points, while the Spartans only produced seven points on GWU's 17 turnovers.  The Runnin' Bulldogs bench also outscored Upstate's by a 34-12 margin.
 
Gardner-Webb made 19-of-61 attempts (31.1 percent) from the floor, including a 6-of-24 (25.0 percent) effort from beyond the arc.  USC Upstate was 18-of-48 (37.5 percent) for the day, and was just 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) from long distance.
 
Williams matched her season-high with 15 points off of the bench to lead Gardner-Webb, making 6-of-15 attempts from the floor and also added a game-high eight rebounds.  Carley Plentovich followed with 14 point on 5-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point distance.
 
Barrett Herring led the USC Upstate offense with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting.  Michaela Gibbons added 10 points, while Riley Popplewell pulled down a game-best 10 rebounds.
 
Gardner-Webb travels to UNC Asheville for its next contest on Tuesday, January 21 at 6:00 pm.