BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Radford held off a rally by Gardner-Webb in the final minutes to earn a 57-50 victory, Saturday afternoon in Big South Women's Basketball action from the Dedmon Center.

The Highlanders (5-10, 2-0 Big South) saw a 14-point lead with 12:33 to go dwindle to just one point before Denay Wood and Da'Naria Erwin Spencer knocked down a pair of crucial jumpers and Radford hit its final four free throws to secure the victory.

In a season-high 37 minutes, Erwin Spencer led all scorers with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds (career-high) and three steals. Wood added 14 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

POST-GAME: Tajama Abraham Ngongba

Monique Hudson paced Gardner-Webb (9-6, 1-1) with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Siera Little was also in double figures with 15 points and recorded a game-high three blocks.

Behind five points from Erwin Spencer, Radford opened the first 3:18 of the second half with an 11-2 run and grabbed a 33-20 lead.

After the Bulldogs cut the deficit to eight (37-39), the Highlanders, who shot 59 percent in the second half, scored six straight points to take their largest lead of the contest (41-27) with 12:33 on the clock.

Gardner-Webb would slowly chip away at Radford's lead and made it a one-possession game (45-42) when Hudson drained a triple at the 5:37 mark. It was the closest margin (20-18) since 2:23 left in the first half.

Radford pushed its lead to six on a pair of freebies by Ciara Hayes, but Gardner-Webb responded with a five straight points, the last three on an old-fashioned three-point play by Hudson, to make it 49-48 with 2:32 on the clock.

However, Wood hit an elbow jumper at 2:05 and then Erwin Spencer drained a jumper just inside the free throw line with 31 seconds left to extend the Highlanders' lead to 53-48.

After Gardner-Webb made it 53-50, Radford hit 4-of-5 free throws to seal the win.

Victoria Hamilton hit double figures for the Highlanders with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Brooke McElroy paced Radford on the glass with a game-high eight boards and also recorded four of Radford's 14 thefts.

Radford finished the game shooting just under 41 percent from the field and 75 percent (12-16) from the charity stripe, while GWU struggled from the field (35 percent) and free throw line (43 percent).

LaTroya Pope chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Bulldogs.

Both teams struggled offensively (31% FG/27 turnovers) in the first half as Radford took a 22-18 lead into the break. Wood and Hudson each tallied a half-high eight points. Wood scored five points during a late 7-2 run that gave the Highlanders their four-point halftime advantage.

Both teams return to action on Monday, Jan. 10. Radford hosts High Point at the Dedmon Center, while Gardner-Webb heads to Rock Hill, S.C. to face Winthrop. Both contests tip at 7