ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb University women's basketball team (4-11, 1-2 Big South) hung tight with league-leading Winthrop (9-7, 3-0 Big South) on Wednesday night in Big South Conference action, but a late run by the home side sealed the Runnin' Bulldogs defeat, 63-49.

The Runnin' Bulldogs and Eagles would go door to door for three quaters on Wednesday night, with the contest locked in a 43-43 tie after 30 minutes of play. For Gardner-Webb, it was the strength of the defense through much of the night. Despite shooting just 30% as a team overall, the Runnin' Bulldogs held Winthrop below that mark through both the first and second quarters, including just 1-of-5 from three in the second stanza which allowed GWU to take a 27-26 halftime lead.

Gardner-Webb did lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Runnin' Bulldogs would ultimately finish the game shooting just 3-of-19 as Winthrop raced to a 20-6 margin across the final 10 minutes, and a 16-2 run across the final five minutes and change. Graduate forward Elze Motekaityte gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a 45-43 with a short jumper at the 9:44 mark of the fourth, the only field goal for GWU until the 5:52 mark. From there, Gardner-Webb connected on its final field goal with 1:15 remaining.

For a Gardner-Webb team that ran eight players deep, five would play above 30 minutes in the contest. This includes senior guard Ashley Hawkins, who finished the night with 12 points, a game-high nine assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals in 38 minutes. Motekaityte finished as the leading scorer for GWU, scoring 13 points with a season-high 12 rebounds for another double-double across 37 minutes. Sophomore guard Elle Blatchford also cracked double-figure scoring, putting 11 points on the board thanks in large part to two made three pointers in her 36 minutes of action.

For the night, Gardner-Webb finished plus-four on the glass, out-rebounding Winthrop by a final margin of 49-45. Furthermore, the Runnin' Bulldogs scored 24 points in the paint and 13 points off 13 Winthrop turnovers.

Big South Conference action continues for the Runnin' Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon inside Paul Porter Arena, as GWU plays host to High Point at 1 p.m.