CHARLESTON, S.C. - Lakeitha Alston scored a season-high 26 points en route to becoming the Lady Bucs' fifth all-time leading scorer, but a career-high 22 points from freshman Candace Brown led Gardner-Webb in the 59-55 Big South Conference victory inside the Buc Dome on Saturday afternoon.

Alston surpassed Keena Wicker (2002-07, 1,292 points) with a three-pointer with 17:42 remaining in the second half to enter the top five in scoring history in CSU (6-12, 1-8 BSC) women's basketball program history and added six rebounds in the loss to Gardner-Webb (9-11, 2-7 BSC).

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DJ Fowler was also in double-digits for Charleston Southern with 10 points and two steals, while Shay Jones added five points, five rebounds and five assists as Charleston Southern used a 15-4 run at the end of the first half to take a 26-22 halftime lead over Gardner-Webb.

"Going into the half, I told them this is our game," said Applin on the team's first half efforts. "We had to continue to play hard and play the same we did the first half, but their team won the rebounding battle with 20 offensive rebounds.

Brown went 10-for-15 from the floor for Gardner-Webb in scoring a career-high 22 points and added a game-high six steals to pace the Runnin' Bulldogs efforts in their second win in the Big South this season. Jasmine Dale scored eight first half points in ending the game with 14 for GWU, while Catrina Green was also in double-digits with 11 points and seven rebounds in the win.

Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb shot nearly the same from the floor in the contest with CSU going 17-of-49 from the floor (34.7 percent), while GWU shot 23-of-66 from the floor (34.8 percent) in the contest.

The difference came in the rebounding battle as Gardner-Webb out-rebounded CSU 45-33, leading to a 16-3 advantage in second chance points.

"The game came down to rebounding and they (Gardner-Webb) came down with crucial rebounds and turnovers at the right time," commented Applin following the game. "Rebounds are going to win the game and both sides played hard in the second half. The difference was their post players getting rebounds at crucial times."

Dale opened the scoring for the game, connecting on her first two three-pointers of the contest to stake the Runnin' Bulldogs to the early 6-3 lead with 18:02 to play. Shay Jones scored the first point for CSU on a free throw, while Whitney Collins connected on a jumper from the top of the key, just inside the free throw line for the Lady Bucs.

CSU took their first lead of the contest six minutes later as Alston and Jones provided the scoring punch for the Lady Bucs with Alston connecting on a pair of free throws and followed Jones' layup with one of her own to give Charleston Southern the 9-8 advantage with 12:57 on the clock.

Candace Brown pushed the lead back into GWU's favor with a layup at the 9:24 mark and added a pair of jumpers to give Gardner-Webb their largest lead of the half at seven points with 5:29 to play. Lana Doran and Jessica Heilig also scored during the 10-2 run to give the Runnin' Bulldogs the 18-11 lead.

CSU steadily chipped away at the lead as Alston connected on a three-pointer on the break on the Lady Bucs' following possession and DJ Fowler drove in for the layup, drawing contact and make the free throw to cut the GWU lead down to one with 4:14 to play in the half.

Brown extended the lead back to three, but Erin Bratcher followed with her first three-pointer of the game, connecting from the left corner to knot the game up at 20-all at the 3:17 mark. The tying three-pointer was in the midst of a 15-4 run CSU used to close out the first half as Anicia Dotson and Alston both converted jumpers to give the Lady Bucs the 26-22 halftime lead.

Alston opened CSU's opening possession in the second half with a jumper to extend the Lady Bucs lead to six, but Gardner-Webb kept the game within two possession as Brown converted a pair of free throws and Green drove in for the layup to put the score at 28-26 with 18:11 to play.

The Lady Bucs and Runnin' Bulldogs traded shots and baskets for the next nine minutes with CSU again going up by six at 40-34 following a three-pointer by Bratcher at the 12:47 mark, but Gardner-Webb followed with eight of the next 10 points to tie the score at 42-all following a Brown jumper off the assist from Tabby Koerner.

The tying basket came during a 22-8 Gardner-Webb run as the Runnin' Bulldogs took their first lead of the second half on a Brown steal and layup with 7:30 to play and Green capped the run with a pair of free throws with 4:11 on the clock as Gardner-Webb went up 52-44 inside the Buc Dome.

Charleston Southern battled back in the closing minutes from the free throw line as with Fowler hitting all four of her attempts, while Alston and Dotson both drove in for layups to cut the score back to within two at 56-54 with 1:20 to play.

Heilig ended the CSU comeback attempt with a layup and Dale made the first of two free throw attempts on the following GWU possession as the Runnin' Bulldogs completed the 59-55 come-from-behind win.

"It's going to be a battle," commented Applin on the upcoming rematch against Radford. "They're good; their inside game is very good. The game will come down to who can out-hustle, out-rebound and out-work their opponents and hit shots."

Charleston Southern remains at home as the Lady Bucs begin their second swing through the Big South Conference on Thursday evening as CSU welcomes Radford to the Buc Dome. Tipoff between the Lady Bucs and the Highlanders is set for 7 p.m. Gardner-Webb returns home to Boiling Springs, N.C. and Paul Porter Arena to take on UNC Asheville on Thursday evening with tipoff at 7 p.m.