RADFORD. Va. – Behind four players in double figures, including a career-high 14 points from junior Denay Wood (Bailey's Crossroads, Va.), Radford picked up its first win of the season, 72-36, over Southern Virginia, Saturday afternoon from the Dedmon Center.

Box Score

Wood finished 5-for-11 from the field and also had six rebounds. Freshman Da'Naria Erwin Spencer (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenburg), junior Jewell Kinlaw (Madison, Ala./Northwest Shoals CC) and junior Ciara Hayes (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) chipped in with 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively. All three totals were career-bests.

Along with the balanced scoring attack, the Highlanders forced 37 turnovers, which led to 40 points. Radford (1-5) also recorded 22 steals led by Erwin Spencer (pictured left) and Kinlaw with four apiece.

“Southern Virginia runs a very structured offense with a lot of screens, curls and cuts and I thought as the game progressed we became more disciplined on the defensive side of the ball, especially in the second half,” state head coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba.

Cara Joyner led the Knights (4-4) with 10 points. Kara Hiatt and Amanda Prestwich chipped in with nine and eight points.

Eight points apiece from junior Kaylyn Crosier (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston) and Hayes helped Radford take a 30-24 lead into halftime.

The Highlander defense pressured the Knights into 16 first half turnovers (11 steals) which resulted in 14 points. However, SVU shot 47.6 percent from the field to keep within striking distance the entire half.

After SVU jumped out to a 4-0 lead, Radford scored eight straight points, the final four by Crosier to take an 8-4 lead at 16:00. The Knights hit a pair of trifectas and got an old fashioned three-point play from Prestwich, highlighting an 11-4 to reclaim the lead at 15-12 with 12:48 left.

A 7-0 spurt the Highlanders up for good at 19-15. Southern Virginia would get within, 23-22 but Radford would scored seven of the last nine points to take its lead into halftime.

Radford scored the first 11 points and held Southern Virginia without a field goal until the 10:31 mark to break open a tight ball game and cruse to the win.

“We came out of the lockerroom with a lot more intensity in the second half,” said Ngongba. “We did all the right things; rebounding, hitting open shots, running transition and staying disciplined on defense.”

Radford, which shot 58 percent in the second, pulled away as it scored the first 11 points and outscored SVU, 42-12. The Highlanders defensive pressure held the Knights without a field goal until the 10:31 mark and just three buckets the entire stanza. They also forced 21 turnovers which led to 26 points.

The Highlanders held a 36-27 advantage on the glass and were led by freshman Victoria Hamilton's (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands/Antilles School) game-high nine caroms.

Freshman Ashley Buckhannon (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) dished out a team-best six assists. SVU's Kezia Ford matched her for game-high honors with six helpers as well.

Radford heads to Chapel Hill, N.C. on Tuesday, Dec. 12 to take on No. 4 North Carolina at 7 p.m.