BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb women's basketball made history Saturday afternoon, beating UNC Asheville 82-58 to move to 16-0 in the Big South.

With the win, Gardner-Webb (24-4, 16-0 Big South) became the first program in conference history – women or men – to start a Big South basketball season with a 16-0 mark. The last 15-0 start came from Liberty's women in 2008-2009 – which was Gardner-Webb's first year as a full conference member.'

Gardner-Webb's stars of the past were out in full force as the school celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Title IX with its Legacy and Legends Hoopscoming Day, and its current stars were on full display during the game.

All-America candidate Jhessyka Williams scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, with All-Big South forward Alasia Smith scoring 22 and grabbing 17 boards. All-Big South guard Lauren Bevis added 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from long range.

Ki'Ari Cain, who drained a half court buzzer beater to end the first quarter, added eight points, seven rebounds and five assists in a terrific overall floor game.

Head Coach Alex Simmons' team outscored Asheville 54-29 in the second half after a slow-paced opening 20 minutes that saw neither team get on track offensively – and the visiting Bulldogs hold a 29-28 lead at intermission.

Gardner-Webb sprinted on a 16-2 run to open the third quarter, with Williams seven in that spurt. A Bevis three with 5:46 to play in the game pushed the margin over 20 points – the 10th time in the last 11 games that GWU has led by at least 20 – and Gardner-Webb kept the pressure on down the stretch to pull away. 

GWU shot 37.0 percent for the game (27-of-73), grabbed 50 rebounds (+13) and forced 21 Asheville turnovers. The 'Dogs scored 22 points off of those turnovers.

UNC Asheville shot 36.4 percent from the floor (20-of-55) and just 5-of-24 from deep (20.8 percent).

Mallory Bruce led the way for the Bulldogs with 18 points and eight rebounds and McKinley Brooks-Sumpter added 10 points. No other Asheville player scored in double figures.

Gardner-Webb will hit the road again to close out the Big South regular season, traveling Wednesday to face Longwood in Farmville, Va.

The Runnin' Bulldogs will return home on Saturday, February 25, to host USC Upstate in the regular season finale. Already the top-seed in the upcoming Hercules Tires Big South Conference Championship – Gardner-Webb has its first Big South regular season title in hand since the 2009-2010 season.

Fans can get ahead of the surge and purchase Big South Tournament tickets from Gardner-Webb's allotment at GWUSports.com ( link here ). Tickets for Saturday's regular season finale – which will feature a trophy presentation – are available here.