STELLAR DEFENSE LIFTS RADFORD OVER BIG SOUTH-LEADING PRESBYTERIAN, 49-31

BOX SCORE CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian College entered Saturday's matchup second in the Big South in scoring defense, but it was Radford's defense rising to the occasion as the Highlanders handed PC its first setback in league play, 49-31, inside the Templeton Center.

“I am really proud of the way we executed our game plan (Radford shot 42.9 percent),” head coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba said. “I thought we played unbelievably hard on the defensive side of the ball. Our intensity on defense was the difference in this ball game. When we are able to generate offense from our defense, we can have nights like tonight.”

Victoria Hamilton notched a season-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting to spearhead the Highlanders' (8-6, 3-2 Big South) offensive attack. The senior from the U.S. Virgin Islands narrowly missed a double-double, pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. Ashley Buckhannon dished out a game-high four assists and was credited with a career-high-tying six steals.

Connecting on 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, Mariah Pietrowski chalked up 10 points for the Blue Hose (10-7, 5-1). She also hauled in a team-best five boards.

Using stifling defense, the Highlanders held PC to 21.1 percent (8-of-38) shooting for the game. It marked the lowest percentage by a Radford opponent under Ngongba's watch. The 31 points were the fewest allowed by the Highlanders since a 53-29 win over PC last season inside the Dedmon Center.

Winning the battle in the paint (30-12), RU improves to 7-0 on the season when outscoring its opponent in the lane.

Holding the Blue Hose without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes to open the game, Radford was able to build a 16-4 advantage. The Highlanders connected on 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) during the stretch.

Devin Fothergill's layup at the 9:04 mark put the first field goal on the board for PC. From there, the hosts were able to trim the Highlanders' lead to 21-17 at the break.

Radford shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) compared to the Blue Hose's 20 percent (4-of-20) in the opening half of action. In addition to holding a 19-13 edge in rebounding, the Highlanders outscored PC 16-6 in points in the paint.

Kasey Hobbie cut the hosts' deficit to 25-24 following her deuce at the 14:48 mark. Ayana Avery buried the Highlanders' first and only 3-pointer of the evening on the ensuing possession to ignite a 16-4 streak to up RU's advantage to 41-28 with 7:31 to go.

Kiera McIvor converted a fast-break layup to give Radford its largest margin of 18 (49-31), which ended up being the final tally. With the victory, RU improves to 11-1 all-time against the Blue Hose and snaps PC's five-game win streak, which was tied for the longest in the Big South entering the day.

On a three-game win streak of their own, the Highlanders return to the New River Valley to host Coastal Carolina (Jan. 17) and Charleston Southern (Jan. 19). The matchup with the Chanticleers gets underway at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, while RU clashes with the Buccaneers at 3:00 p.m., Saturday.

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