RIVERS’ DOUBLE-DOUBLE NOT ENOUGH IN 49-43 LOSS TO LIBERTY

Saturday, January 2

RADFORD

2:00 PM

Radford University

5-7, 1-2BSC

Liberty

6-7, 3-1BSC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Liberty	13	6	14	16	49
Radford	9	8	14	12	43

Photo by: RUHighlanderPhotos.com

RIVERS’ DOUBLE-DOUBLE NOT ENOUGH IN 49-43 LOSS TO LIBERTY

1/2/2016 5:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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GAME INFORMATION

Score: Liberty 49, Radford 43
Records: Liberty (6-7, 3-1 Big South) | Radford (5-7, 1-2 Big South)
Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Freshman forward Lydia Rivers collected her first double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds), but Radford was unable to overcome a poor free-throw shooting performance in a 49-43 Big South loss to Liberty, Saturday afternoon inside the Dedmon Center. The setback snaps the Highlanders' 13-game home winning streak.
Trailing 39-33 with 7:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, Radford rattled off six straight points as an Aisha Foy layup knotted the contest at 39 with 3:51 left in regulation.
The Highlanders' hopes of a comeback faded as the Flames outscored RU, 10-4, in the final three minutes of regulation.
Liberty was the first to gain separation in a tightly-contested game, taking a 17-9 lead at the 8:09 mark in the second quarter. The Flames' lead came on a 10-0 run.
Radford closed out the first half on an 8-2 run, going into intermission with a 19-17 deficit. Rivers paced the run with four points.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Lydia Rivers finished with a season-high 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting, including a 5 for 6 clip from the charity stripe. However, her free-throw shooting was the lone bright spot for the Highlanders, who made just 14 of 26 (53.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
Rivers has now grabbed double-digit boards in four contests on the season with two coming in Big South play.
Aisha Foy rounded out the Highlanders in double-figure scoring, finishing with 10 points.
Foy has scored double digits in nine contests this season.
The Highlanders' defense held Liberty's Catherine Kearney to four points, after scoring back-to-back games of 20 and 22 points, respectively.
Radford shot 1 for 10 from 3-point land, their lowest mark of the season. On the other hand, the Flames torched the nets from beyond the arc, connecting on 42.9 percent (6-14) of their attempts.
RU and Liberty combined for 35 turnovers. The Flames scored 17 points off turnovers, while the Highlanders tallied 14 points.
Controlling the boards, Radford finished with a 37-28 rebounding advantage. It is the second straight season the Highlanders outrebounded Liberty inside the Dedmon Center. The Flames' 28 rebounds are a season low.
Mickayla Sanders paced Liberty with a game-high 21 points on 4 of 7 shooting from downtown. Sanders has now scored 56 points in her last three matchups versus the Highlanders.
Radford has now dropped 10 straight contests to its in-state foe from Lynchburg. The Highlanders' last home win versus Liberty came on March 3, 2007.

QUOTABLE

"Today was a tough ballgame. It felt like this game did not have much of a flow. It was more of a half-court oriented game, which played into Liberty's favor. We knew the tempo needed to be faster. We just never could get the pace we wanted to go. This is definitely a tough loss, but you have to credit Liberty. [Mickayla] Sanders made some big shots in the second half. That's what championship-level programs do when the game is not smooth, when the game is not easy. Those teams find a way to win, and that's something we have to build to [here at Radford]."~Radford head coach, Mike McGuire

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