ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb fought back from a six-point deficit at halftime, outscoring UNC Asheville 41-29 in the second half to earn a 65-59 road victory in Big South Conference play on Tuesday evening.
 
Gardner-Webb (9-8, 4-4 Big South) trailed UNC Asheville (11-6, 5-3 Big South) by as many as 13 points with 2:24 remaining in the second period, but the Runnin' Bulldogs would close the frame with a 7-0 run to pull within six points, 30-24, at the half.
 
GWU's run continued at the beginning of the third period with back-to-back buckets by Alexis Hueston and Carley Plentovich to pull within two points of the lead at 30-28 with 8:37 on the clock.  Both teams traded baskets until the 4:55 mark as Savannah Plentovich buried a three-pointer to spark an 8-0 run to give the 'Dogs a 42-36 lead with 2:28 remaining in the quarter.
 
GWU pushed its lead to as high as seven points with 56 seconds left in the period on a Ki'Ari Cain free throw and would go on to lead by a 45-40 margin as play headed to the final quarter.
 
Gardner-Webb would maintain its lead in the opening minutes of the fourth period, expanding it back to seven points after Carley Plentovich drained a pair of free throws with 5:02 remaining, but UNC Asheville answered with one last run, rattling off seven unanswered points to tie the game at 55-55 with 2:28 to go.
 
Jhessyka Williams gave the 'Dogs the lead in the following possession, drawing a foul as she scored on a layup to convert an old-fashioned three-point play with 2:13 on the clock, and she would score GWU's next four points to give the team a 62-59 lead with 50 seconds remaining.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs knocked down five of their six free-throw attempts in the final seconds of play, while UNC Asheville went 0-for-4 from the floor during that stretch, giving Gardner-Webb the 65-59 win.
 
GWU made 22-of-64 shot attempts (34.4 percent) on the evening, including 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from long distance.  UNC Asheville was 24-of-63 (38.1 percent), but was 0-for-12 from beyond the arc.
 
Alexis Hueston led a trio of GWU scorers in double-digits with 12 points on a 6-of-11 performance.  Gabrielle Caponegro recorded her first double-double of the season with an 11-point, 11-rebound outing, and Lauren Bevis added 11 points on the evening.
 
Sonora Dengokl led UNC Asheville with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting.  Brooke Jordan-Brown followed with 11 points and seven rebounds.
 
Gardner-Webb returns to Paul Porter Arena for its next bout, hosting Radford at 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 25^th, with live coverage on ESPN+.