RADFORD, Va. – Radford used a stifling second-half defense to break open a back-and-forth ball game and sophomore Taleia Moton (Fort Washington, Md./Suitland) scored a career and game-high 20 points as the Highlanders defeated Coastal Carolina, 65-56, Saturday afternoon in the return of women's hoops to the newly refurbished Dedmon Center.

Box Score

Trailing 35-33 at the 13:27 mark of the second half, Radford turned up its defense which keyed a 16-2 run over the next 5:13 to give Radford a 49-37 lead with just over eight minutes remaining. During the deciding five minutes, the Highlanders scored 11 points off of eight Chanticleer turnovers led by senior Johnette Walker (Columbia, S.C./Irmo) who tallied seven of those points.

For the second half, Radford (5-12, 4-2 Big South) forced 19 Coastal Carolina (10-8, 2-3 Big South) turnovers, scored 17 points off of them and recorded 13 steals. On the other end, the Highlanders showed poise, committing just three turnovers and finishing the game with a season-low eight.

After Coastal Carolina's Amanda Stull converted a three-point play to get the Chanticleers within nine (51-42) at 7:25, junior Kymesha Alston (Hampton, Va./Manhattan) scored four of Radford's next six points to extend their lead back to double-digits (57-42) with 5:42 remaining.

The Chanticleers made one last push in the last minute, cutting the Highlanders' lead to 61-55 with 28 seconds left, but Walker and Moton iced the game, each hitting a pair of free throws.

Moton was 8-for-16 from the field and recorded five assists and four steals. Alston was right behind her with 19 points, 13 coming in the second half, and a team-best nine rebounds. Walker chipped in with nine points and registered a game-high five thefts.

Sophomore Denay Wood (Bailey's Crossroads, Va./Annandale) contributed to the defensive with a career-high three blocks. Senior Vandy Pullen (Arlington, Va./Maine) dished out a career and game-high seven assists.

Sydnei Moss led the Chanticleers with 16 points with Kendra Reynolds chipping in with 12. Stull pulled down a game-best 10 rebounds helping Coastal Carolina win that battle, 38-35.

Radford, which won its first back-to-back games of the season, shot 39 percent from the field but struggled from beyond the arc (20 percent) and at the line (57 percent). The Chanticleers finished shooting at a 41 percent clip and were 3-of-9 from long distance and 68 percent (13-19) from the charity stripe.

Radford will host Charleston Southern on Monday, Jan. 26 at 7 pm. Coastal Carolina will make the trek to Liberty for a 7 pm tip on Monday evening.