BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Behind an overall team effort and a career-high 18 points from freshman Da'Naria Erwin Spencer (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenburg), Radford stopped red-hot Gardner-Webb, 68-53 in its Big South opener Monday evening at Paul Porter Arena.

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With the scored tied at 45-45, Radford (2-10, 1-0 Big South) closed out the final 7:30 of the game with a 23-8 run to win its sixth straight conference opener and 18th overall.

"This was a total team effort tonight," said head coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba. "We played collectively on defense and took some key charges late in the game. We did a lot of the little things right. I am very proud of them."

Gardner-Webb (12-3, 1-1 BSC) entered the contest winners of five straight and 12 of its last 13. But for the second straight season, Radford defeated the Bulldogs in its conference opener. The victory also snapped the Bulldogs' eight-game home winning streak and the Highlanders' five-game slide.

Erwin Spencer hit 5-of-9 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, all coming in the second half. She also recorded five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Freshman Ashley Buckhannon (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe), who was 3-for-4 on three-pointers, added 13 points, three assists and a team-high three steals.

At the 7:30 mark of the second half, freshman Victoria Hamilton (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands/Antilles School) hit a pair of free throws to give Radford the lead for good (47-45). Hamilton finished with a career-best seven points and three steals.

After Gardner-Webb cut it to 47-46, Radford used a 12-1 run, sparked by key three-pointers from Buckhannon and junior Denay Wood (Bailey's Crossroads, Va./Annandale) to break open the game and cruise in the final few minutes.

Radford finished the game shooting 46 percent (23-50) from the field and a blistering 66.7 percent (6-for-9) from three-point range while holding Gardner-Webb, which entered the contest seventh in the country in three-point percentage (40 percent), to just 23.1 percent from long range and 29.8 percent overall.

Monique Hudson led all scorers with 20 points for the Bulldogs with Sandra Vaitkute chipping in with 10 points.

Radford, led by junior Kaylyn Crosier's (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston) game and career-high nine rebounds, outrebounded GWU 42-34. Wood and redshirt senior Kymesha Alston (Hampton, Va./Manhattan) chipped in with eight and seven boards as the Highlanders outrebounded their opponents for just the third time this season.

Alston also contributed with 14 points.

Keyed by strong rebounding and 41.4 percent shooting Radford took a 32-26 lead into halftime. The Highlanders held a commanding 27-11 advantage on the glass led by Wood's seven with Crosier and Alston corralling six apiece. Alston also paced Radford with eight points.

Behind five points and five rebounds from Crosier, and some strong defense, Radford jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first 4:29 of the contest. The Highlanders held the Bulldogs without a field goal until the 11:34 mark.

That bucket, which was preceded by two free throws, triggered an 8-0 GWU spurt to knot the game at 10-all.

After Gardner-Webb took its first lead of the game at 6:55, Radford went on a 12-3 run to grab 29-21 advantage with just under two minutes to go in the first half.

The run, sparked by back-to-back triples by Wood and Buckhannon, helped Radford take a six-point lead into halftime, just its third lead at the break this season.

The Highlanders extended their six-point halftime lead to 14 (41-27) with a 10-1 half opening run. The Bulldogs strormed back with a 16-2 run that tied the game at 43-43 with 9:58 left in the contest.

"We did a great job responding to their runs in each half," stated Ngongba."We hit big shots, because we were able to move the ball around and put it up with confidence."

Radford begins a four-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 9 hosting High Point at 3 p.m.