RICHMOND. Va. – Propelled by a 20-4 run to end the first half, Richmond defeated Radford, 74-40, Monday evening from the Robins Center. Redshirt junior Brooke McElroy (Richmond, Va./Monmouth) paced the Highlanders with 14 points.

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The Spiders (8-3) shot 43.5 percent for the game and had three players in double figures led by Brittani Shells' game-high 15 points. Crystal Goring chipped in with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. Her 11 caroms paced a 57-36 rebounding margin by the Spiders.

McElroy was 6-for-12 from the field and recorded two steals for the Highlanders (1-8). Junior Jewell Kinlaw (Madison, Ala./Northwest Shoals CC) was Radford's leading rebounder with a career-high nine.

Richmond broke open a six-point lead (20-14) with a 20-4 run over the final 7:38 of the first half to take a commanding 40-18 lead at the break. Seven different Spiders netted points led by Rachael Bilney and Danielle Bell with nine and eight, respectively. McElroy paced the Highlanders with eight points.

Richmond, which shot 43.2 percent in the half, jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first 5:40 behind a combined nine points from Goring (5) and Shells (4). The Highlanders were able to get within 12-8 after four consecutive free throws.

That would be the closest Radford got as Richmond reeled off 10 straight points, highlighted by back-to-back triples by Kara Powell and Bell. After a McElroy runner, Bell and Bilney nailed three-pointers as the Spiders scored 10 unanswered points to push their lead to 40-16.

The Highlanders, which shot just 24.1 percent in the first half and 23.7 percent for the game, broke a three-minute scoring drought when Kinlaw converted an offensive rebound at 1:17 to close out the first half scoring.

Defensively, the Highlanders finished the game with a season-high six blocks by six different players, including one by freshman Ema Reskoska (Ohrid, Macedonia/Veritas Christian), making her Highlander debut.

The Highlanders continue their road trip to Hampton, Va. for a Wednesday evening tilt at Hampton. Tip off is set for 5:30 p.m.