Box Score

RADFORD, Va. – When a game-tying free throw bounced off the iron with 0.3 seconds left, Radford's bid for a second straight second half comeback fell short as Hampton edged the Highlanders, 52-51, Monday night from the Dedmon Center.

Keying Radford's (2-3) rally were sophomores Ema Reskoska and Da'Naria Erwin Spencer. Reskoska scored a career-high 13 points, nine in the second half, and grabbed five rebounds, while Erwin Spencer dropped in a game-best 17 points with four assists.

Trailing by 10 (41-31) with 11:31 left, Radford went on a 17-5 run, capped off by seven straight points from Erwin Spencer. Her old fashioned three-point play at 4:02 gave the Highlanders their first lead (48-46) since 15:18 of the first half.

? POST-GAME: Head Coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba

As the Pirates (2-4) did in the first half, they answered the Highlanders' rally. This time, Hampton scored six of the final nine points, including the game-winning free throws by Quanneisha Perry with 39 ticks left on the clock.

The Highlanders had one last chance as sophomore Victoria Hamilton was fouled on an offensive rebound with 0.3 seconds on the clock. After draining the first one, her game-tying attempt bounced off the iron. Radford grabbed the rebound, but there wasn't enough time left to put up another shot.

“I thought we came out a little flat in the first half, but our intensity and energy defensively was much better in the second half,” said head coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba.

Choicetta McMillian led the Pirates with 14 points and four steals. Perry chipped in with 10 points, while Delia Burnson pulled down a game-best eight rebounds. The Pirates out rebounded the Highlanders 32-25.

Hamilton grabbed a team-best six boards and recorded two steals for the Highlanders, who won the turnover battle for the fourth time in five games (22-15). Radford, which held Hampton to 32 percent shooting in the second half, scored 24 points off those Hampton miscues.

"We did a better job in terms of getting the ball inside to Ema and our post players to allow our post presence to show itself in the game," stated Ngongba. "Coming out flat and putting ourselves into a hole, you burn more energy trying to get out.”

Keyed by a 12-0 run to erase an early four-point deficit and 56 percent shooting from the field, Hampton carried a 35-25 lead into halftime.

Radford, which shot 45.5 percent in the first half, got within five points on two separate occasions, but each rally was answered by a Hampton run. HU's McMillian led all scorers at the break with 12 points, while Erwin Spencer led Radford with eight points.

Trailing 30-18, the Highlanders, sparked by a pair of Reskoska jumpers in the paint used a 7-0 spurt, to cut the Pirates' lead to 30-25 with 41 seconds left in the half.

However, Hampton scored the final five points of the half, including a three by McMillian at the buzzer, allowing the Pirates to regain their double-digit lead at the break.

Radford goes back out on the road, Saturday, Dec. 4 when they head to Davidson for a 4 p.m. tip.