RADFORD, Va. – Winthrop raced out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes and shot 56 percent from the field, defeating Radford, 63-49 Saturday afternoon from the Dedmon Center. Tiffany Rodd and Ashley Haugtvedt led the Eagles (12-11, 6-4 Big South) with 18 and 14 points, respectively, as they moved into sole possession of third place.

Box Score

The Highlanders (6-15, 5-5 Big South) were paced by Kymesha Alston's (Hampton, Va./Manhattan) 18 points and eight rebounds. She was 8-for-14 from the floor and recorded three steals and two blocks.

Today's contest was held in conjunction with the WBCA's Pink Zone initiative, raising awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The Highlanders sported the official Kay Yow fire pink shirt during warm-ups and starting lineups and wore pink shoelaces for the game.

Yow was the long-time North Carolina State head coach and founder and past president of the WBCA, who lost her 20-year battle with cancer on Feb. 24.

This Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.

Rodd was 7-for-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point land. She also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists. Haugtvedt missed just two shots (6-for-8) and recorded a game-best three blocks.

The Eagles were 25-for-45 from the field and 7-for-15 (46.7%) from long range. They outrebounded the Highlanders, 38-30 and blocked seven shots. Ashley Fann paced the Eagles on the glass with eight caroms.

Radford could not find any offensive flow, shooting 33 percent (20-61) from the floor and 17 percent (2-12) from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Highlanders forced 24 turnovers and registered 15 steals.

Sophomore Taleia Moton (Fort Washington, Md./Suitland) chipped in with 11 points, four assists and three steals. Freshman Kahealani Vick (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) had her most productive game of the season with a career-high six points and seven rebounds (five offensive).

“Kay gave us solid minutes off the bench today,” stated head coach Tajama Ngongba. “She did a great job on the glass after a strong week of practice.”

After a Radford turnover, Haugtvedt drained a three from the top of the key on Winthrop's first possession of the game and the Eagles hit four of their first six shots to take a 9-0 lead at 17:09 of the first half.

“We have to come out stronger and more focused, especially when playing at home. The first five minutes punched us in the gut and we did not recover.”

The Highlanders, who committed a turnover of their first three possessions and five in the first five minutes, finally got on the board at 13:36 when Moton converted an old-fashioned three-point play. A Vick putback on its next possession got Radford within 9-5.

The Eagles ended a 4:40 drought on a Jessica Fansler jumper at 12:47 which ignited a 10-0 spurt, pushing their advantage to 19-5 at 9:20. Kathi Ryska and Fansler drained back-to-back triples and the Highlanders turned the ball over four more times during the run. Fansler finished the game with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.

“Winthrop was on fire today,” said Ngongba. “It's hard when you're trying to get back into the game and the other team keeps knocking down shots.”

The Highlanders were unable to get within 11 the rest of the half and the Eagles took a comfortable 37-24 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Winthrop quickly pushed its lead to 18 (42-24) when Rodd nailed a three at 18:43. A 6-0 spurt by Radford, capped off by senior Rachel Morris' (Stanley, Va./Page County) three, cut the Winthrop lead to 12 (42-30) with 16:55 left in the game.

That would be as close as Radford would get. Winthrop expanded its lead to as much as 21 points in the second half and never let it gets below 16 points until the final seconds of the game.

Radford returns to action on Monday, Feb. 16, hosting High Point at 7 p.m. The Eagles head to Liberty for a 7 p.m. tip on Monday as well.