CHARLESTON SOUTHERN HOLDS OFF WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, 79-69

BOX SCORE
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern knocked down 21 free throws in the second half and Lakeitha Alston scored 22 points to hold off Radford women's basketball, 79-69, Saturday afternoon at the Buc Dome.

Despite shooting 47 percent for the game, Radford (7-8, 1-3 Big South) was unable to overcome the Buccaneers (11-5, 4-1 Big South) hitting 21-of-29 from the charity stripe in the second half and 24-of-33 for the game.

A pair of Tiana Cannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Coffeyville CC) freebies at 11:27 pulled Radford within four, 47-43, its closest margin since 1:05 remaining in the first half, but the Highlanders couldn't chip away at the lead as the Buccaneers knocked down its opportunities from the stripe.

Alston led four Buccaneers in double figures with 22 points to go along with 10 boards, followed by Rachelle Coward's 16 points. Shay Jones recorded 14 points and Anicia Dotson tallied 13 to round out the double-figure scorers.

Da'Naria Erwin Spencer (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenburg) once again led all Radford players with 17 points, including three treys, dished out four assists and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Ayana Avery (Cleveland, N.C./West Rowan) had a solid game with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while Victoria Hamilton (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) also reached double figures with 10.

Radford began the game on an 8-2 opening run, keyed by two forced turnovers and a bucket by Hamilton. Following an 11-6 Highlander lead, the Buccaneers would go on an 8-0 spurt to grab its first lead of the game, 14-13.

Erwin Spencer's second trey of the year would briefly put Radford back on top, 16-14, but Charleston Southern would go back on top with two three-point plays to lead the rest of the way.

The Buccaneers grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, one more than Radford collected the entire half, which led to 12 more shot attempts and four more makes – the difference in the first half. Lakeitha Alston was a force in the paint, scoring 11 first-half points and pulled down five rebounds.

The Radford bench held a strong advantage, 23-6.

Radford concludes the first road weekend of the conference season with a 7 p.m. tilt at Coastal Carolina Monday.

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