RADFORD, Va. – Three players scored in double figures and Radford's defense recorded a season-high 17 steals as it defeated High Point, 76-60, Monday evening from the Dedmon Center. Sophomore Taleia Moton (Fort Washington, Md./Suitland) scored a game-high 18 points and junior Kymesha Alston (Hampton, Va./Manhattan) tossed in 17 points and pulled down six rebounds as the Highlanders (7-15, 6-5 Big South) snapped a three-game slide and moved back into a tie for third place in the Big South.

Box Score

Moton was 7-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line with five rebounds and four assists. Alston was 5-for-9 from the floor and 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. The Highlanders as a team shot 46 percent (26-56) and 75 percent (21-28) from the free throw line.

“There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm tonight,” said head coach Tajama Ngongba. “We came out of the gate strong, communicating well. There was a good flow to our offense and defense all game.”

Mackenzie Maier led the Panthers (11-14, 7-5 Big South) with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double and three steals. Shamia Brown also tallied a team-best 17 points with seven rebounds.

Trailing 5-2, Radford went on a 24-6 run over a 9:10 span to take a 26-11 lead at 6:36 of the first half. Alston started it with a pair of free throws as the Highlanders would hit 11 of their 13 straight charity tosses during the run. Alston, along with freshman Kahealani Vick (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) scored six points over that stretch.

After senior Rachel Morris (Stanley, Va./Page County) drained a three from the corner at 3:22, the Panthers closed out the final 2:24 with a 10-2 spurt to get within, 36-29, going into halftime. High Point went 6-for-6 from the line during the run, and after missing its first freebee of the game, hit 13 straight charity tosses. The Panthers finished the game 16-for-19 (84 percent) from the free throw line.

Radford, who shot a blistering 63 percent (17-27) in the second half, countered High Point's half-ending run by scoring the first nine points of the second stanza to push its lead back to double-digits (45-29) just 3:08 into the second. Alston sparked the early surge as she tallied the first five points which included an old-fashioned three-point play.

High Point managed to cut Radford's advantage to 12 points three more times over the next five minutes, but Radford continued to answer any comeback attempt getting 14 of its season-high 28 bench points in the final 14 minutes of the game.

“We received tremendous production off the bench, getting 28 points,” Ngongba stated. “We've been looking for that all season and it showed up tonight.”

Senior Johnette Walker (Columbia, S.C./Irmo), Vick and junior Davida Dodson (Silver Spring, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) combined to score 26 points off the bench. Walker (pictured) had 11 points, four assists and four steals. Vick netted a career-high eight points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds and four steals. Dodson chipped in with seven points, five rebounds and three steals.

Frances Field added 10 points and four assists for the Panthers.

Radford won the turnover battle for the eighth time in nine games, forcing 20 and committing just 14. High Point outrebounded Radford, 39-33 which included 22 offensive boards.

The Highlanders head to Charleston Southern for a 5:30 p.m. contest on Saturday, Feb. 21.