RADFORD, Va. – A furious second half comeback fell short as Radford was defeated by Mount St. Mary's, 52-49, Saturday evening from the Dedmon Center in the Highlanders' home opener. Red-shirt senior Kymesha Alston (Hampton, Va./Manhattan) recorded her second straight double-double with a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds.

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The Highlanders entered the second half trailing by 17 points (35-18), but Radford turned up the defensive pressure holding the Mount to just three field goals (16.7 percent), including zero over the final 7:32 of the game.

“We had a great opportunity to win after a slow start,” said head coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba. “We stepped it up defensively, but were unable to take advantage of our trips to the line. We were very indecisive in the first half. We did a better job confidence wise in the second half.”

A 13-3 run, sparked by seven points by junior Denay Wood (Bailey's Crossroad, Va./Annandale), got the Highlanders within one possession (43-40) for the first time since 1:30 into the contest. The Mount held at least a three-point advantage until 15 seconds left in the game when jumper by freshman Da'Naria Erwin Spencer (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenburg) cut the deficit to 51-49.

After a foul, Courtney Nyce hit one of two free throws, giving Radford one more shot to send the game into overtime, but freshman Katherine Brockett's (Geelong, Australia/Kardinia International College) three hit the rim and bounced awry.

Radford was given several opportunities to take the lead, but went 9-for-20 from the charity stripe in the second half and 12-26 for the game.

Erwin Spencer (pictured in headshot) finished with nine points and four assists for the Highlanders. Red-shirt junior Brooke McElroy (Richmond, Va./Monmouth) pulled down a game and career-high 13 rebounds as Radford outrebounded Mount St. Mary's, 48-42.

“Da'Naria got comfortable as the game progressed,” said Ngongba. “She is settling into her role, gaining more confidence with every possession.”

Mount St. Mary's Mary Dunn led all scorers with 16 points and recorded a double-double with a team-high 12 rebounds. Lauren Howell chipped in with 14 points, while Selina Mann dished out a game-high five assists.

The Mount shot 34 percent for the game, while the Highlanders shot 28.8 percent.

Mount St. Mary's, who shot 44.8 percent in the first half, jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first 13:33 of the game and went into the lockerrom with 35-18 advantage. The Mount was paced by Howell's 11 points. Alston led Radford with nine points and six rebounds.

After the 11-0 run, The Highlanders scored their first bucket on a putback by freshman Victoria Hamilton (St. Thomas, U.S., Virgin Island/Antilles School) at 13:22. Following a Kaylyn Crosier (South Charleston, W.Va./S. Charleston) triple that got Radford within 11-5, the Mount went on a 14-2 run to take a commanding 25-7 lead with 6:15 left.

Radford continues its three-game homestand on Wednesday, Nov. 25, hosting Virginia Tech at 3 p.m.