BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Brooke McElroy tallied 19 points, but Radford could not overcome a big first half run by Richmond and fell 73-50, in its final non-conference game, Thursday evening from the Dedmon Center.

McElroy was 6-14 from the floor, 3-6 from long range and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. She also tied two other teammates with three steals. Richmond's Brittani Shells led all scorers with 22 points, 16 in the decisive first half.

Behind a 31-5 run, the Spiders (9-4) turned an 8-6 lead into a 39-11 advantage before taking a 47-20 lead into halftime. The Highlanders (3-10), which at one point missed 14 straight shots, finished the stanza shooting just 21 percent (7-34), while Richmond, which shot 58 percent in the first half, did its damage on the break (16 points) and off turnovers (22 points).

After falling behind 8-3, senior Denay Wood drained a triple at 15:56 to cut Richmond's lead to 8-6. That would be as close as Radford would get.

Both teams went into an offensive funk for the next four minutes before Samantha Bliney drained a 15-foot jumper which jump started a 17-0 spurt to give the Spiders a commanding 25-6 lead with 7:51 on the clock. Sarah Tabb broke Radford's eight-minute scoring drought with a put back at 7:37.

The Highlanders scored the first six points of the second stanza and held Richmond scoreless for almost six minutes.

Radford did outscore Richmond in the second half, 30-26, and shot 34.5 percent from the floor and held the Spiders to 35.5 percent. The Highlanders finished the contest at 27 percent from the field, while Richmond, following a blistering first half shot 47 percent for the game.

Abby Oliver chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds for the Spiders. Junior Da'Naria Erwin Spencer added nine points for the Highlanders.

The Highlanders held a slight advantage on the glass, 45-44.

Radford opens up its 25th season of Big South play on the road at UNC Asheville on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.