BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb University women's basketball team (5-11, 2-2 Big South) took down previous league-unbeaten High Point (8-9, 3-1 Big South) on Saturday afternoon at Paul Porter Arena, outscoring the Panthers 24-16 in the fourth quarter in route to a 64-52 victory.

In a game the Runnin' Bulldogs desperately needed early in conference play, Gardner-Webb would ride strong defense early before finding its footing on offense in the second half. GWU held High Point to just 25 points in the first half total, and just 11 points in both the first and third quarters. That first half for High Point included just a 9-for-31 clip from the floor, 1-of-10 from three as the teams entered the break tied at 25.

In the third and fourth quarters, the Runnin' Bulldogs turned to senior guard Ashley Hawkins to ignite the offense. The Long Beach, Calif. native scored 11 of her game-high 22 points after halftime, including nine down the stretch. Up by six with under three minutes remaining, Hawkins connected on a pair of free throws and a step-back three to bring the crowd to its feet, and push Gardner-Webb ahead 55-47... a lead the Runnin' Bulldogs wouldn't relinquish.

Graduate forward Elze Motekaityte played a major role as well for the Runnin' Bulldogs across 36 minutes. The VCU-transfer scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, helping GWU win the rebounding battle. Motekaityte wasn't just limited to the paint either, knocking down a huge three to put Gardner-Webb up four with 5:22 remaining.

Freshman guard Kendall Scott also emerged late in the contest for Gardner-Webb, part of a game which saw her score nine points, grab five rebounds, and finish a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Scott knocked down her only three with a little over seven minutes to go, and helped ice the game with a pair of free throws inside four minutes remaining.

Overall, Gardner-Webb shot 11-of-23 after halftime from the floor and finished the game 19-of-22 at the free throw line. GWU scored 30 of its 60 points in the paint, managed 11 second chance points, and forced High Point into 12 turnovers.The Runnin' Bulldogs got significant contributions off the bench as well, with sophomore forward Andrea Martinez playing 36 minutes and Scott featuring in 25, both season-highs.

Next on the schedule, the Runnin' Bulldogs continue Big South play against Radford. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 15th inside Paul Porter Arena. Single game tickets for all GWU men's and women's basketball games are on sale now at gwusports.com