WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PUTS UP A FIGHT AGAINST REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS

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RADFORD, Va. – Radford erased a 28-point deficit with three minutes to go, but High Point hung on down the stretch to prevail, 68-60, Saturday afternoon in the Big South women's basketball regular season finale for both teams at the Dedmon Center.

With the win, the Panthers (20-9, 16-4 Big South) won their second Big South regular season championship in program history. They are the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament. Meanwhile, the Highlanders (7-22, 5-15 Big South) are the No. 9 seed and will play No. 8 seed UNC Asheville in Tuesday's first round game at 11 a.m. The winner of that game will play High Point at noon, Thursday.

"We made a defensive adjustment at halftime and were quite successful with it in the second half," head coach Mike McGuire pointed out. "I want to give a lot of credit to our young ladies. This game could have gotten out of hand like Thursday night against Liberty. They were resilient and competed hard. That's the mentality I want this team to take to the tournament next week."

Like Thursday, Radford fell behind by a large margin in the first half. HPU extended its lead to as many as 28 before claiming a 46-25 favor at the break. The Panthers were creating open looks from long range against RU's 2-3 zone, knocking down 7-of-11 from deep in the first frame.

Needing to make a change, the Highlanders implemented a man-to-man defense to begin the second half. The adjustment did its job, as the Panthers did not make a field goal until 11:56 was left in the game. By then, Radford had closed the gap to 50-39.

The Highlanders eventually tied the game at 57 after Breshara Gordon penetrated the lane and dished the ball to Rachael Ross for an easy deuce. Gordon finished with a career-high nine assists. RU had multiple chances to take the lead in the final two minutes of the game, but was unable to capitalize on those opportunities.

Ayana Avery scored a team-high 16 points, with 12 coming from downtown. By drilling four 3-pointers today, Avery's career total of 184 ranks second in program history. Jordynn Gaymon and Aisha Foy chalked up 10 points apiece to give the Highlanders three double-figure scorers.

Kiera McIvor, Ross and Gaymon each pulled down seven rebounds to help Radford tie the Panthers in the rebounding category, 42-42. RU was assertive in getting to the rim, outscoring High Point in points in the paint (34-22).

Kaylah Keys, who is a favorite to win Big South Freshman of the Year, dialed up four 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 26 points for the Panthers. She was also 8-for-8 from the line. Stacia Robertson contributed 16 points and nine rebounds, while Latrice Phelps tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.

POSTGAME NOTES
- Ayana Avery moves into second place in program history for 3-pointers made in a career with 184
- High Point only made five field goals in the second half on 5-of-28 shooting (17.9 percent)
- Radford held the Panthers without a field goal for the first eight minutes of the second half

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