HOT-SHOOTING CLEMSON PREVAILS 74-55 OVER HIGHLANDERS

BOX SCORE CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson hit 51 percent of its shots and was able to answer each comeback attempt by Radford in the second half to defeat the Highlanders, 74-55, in non-conference women's basketball action Sunday evening inside Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Lady Tigers improve to 2-7 with the victory, while RU levels its record at 5-5 heading into Big South play.

“We had done a nice job keeping our turnovers to a minimum up until this point,” expressed head coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba. “The first half, especially the last 10 minutes of it, was the difference in this game. We threw away too many possessions and we cannot let that happen against a team like Clemson.”

Ayana Avery was the lone Highlander in double figures with 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Victoria Hamilton, Diani Mason and Jordynn Gaymon added eight points apiece, while Hamilton reeled in a team-best 10 boards.

Nikki Dixon led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting for the hosts. Three others joined Dixon in double figures: Nyilah Jamison-Myers (14), Quinyotta Pettaway (12) and Aisha Turner (12). Jamison-Myers added a game-high 13 rebounds to record a double-double.

Connecting on a season-best 26-of-51 (51 percent) from the hardwood, Clemson did most of its damage in the paint. The Lady Tigers outscored the visitors, 38-20, in this category. However, the Highlanders managed to win the rebounding battle (42-41), which led to an 18-7 edge in second-chance points.

Both squads struggled keeping possession, combining for 54 turnovers. The Lady Tigers forced Radford into a season-high 27 miscues, which were cashed in for 35 points.

Clemson raced out to the early eight-point lead (15-7), but a Mason and-one capped a 6-2 spurt to get the Highlanders to within four (17-13) with 9:54 remaining in the half. From there, the Lady Tigers ran out the first frame on a 22-6 surge to claim a comfortable 39-19 advantage at intermission.

Cutting their deficit to 16 (45-29) after a pair of Gaymon free throws, the Highlanders forced Clemson to burn a timeout with 13:28 showing on the clock. Out of the timeout, the Lady Tigers embarked on a 14-3 streak over the next four minutes and change to expand their lead to 27 (59-32). Clemson cruised in the rest of the way to improve to 5-0 all-time against RU.

“We have played a challenging non-conference schedule,” commented Ngongba. “Our team has learned from each of these tests and are well-prepared as we jump back into conference play later this month.”

A Big South clash with league newcomer Longwood looms on the horizon. The Dec. 29 tilt is set for 4:30 p.m. inside the Dedmon Center and is part of a doubleheader with the men squaring off against Central Penn at 2:00 p.m.

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