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Dave Knachel | Virginia Tech
52
Radford RAD 7-3
71
Winner Virginia Tech VT 12-0
Radford RAD
7-3
52
Final
71
Virginia Tech VT
12-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Radford RAD 16 6 8 22 52
Virginia Tech VT 21 13 24 13 71

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

RADFORD UNABLE TO OVERCOME STRONG VA TECH THIRD QUARTER



GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: No. 23/23 Virginia Tech 71, Radford 52
  • Records: Hokies (12-0) | Highlanders (7-3)
  • Location: Cassell Coliseum | Blacksburg, Va.   
 
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Destinee Walker's game-high 18 points was not enough as a strong offensive third quarter performance by No. 23 Virginia Tech proved too much for Radford to overcome as the Highlanders were outscored 24-8 in the quarter, Wednesday afternoon in the 35th meeting between the two New River Valley foes.
 
Walker tallied 14 of her 18 points in the first half, finishing 7 for 13 from the field and a perfect 3 for 3 from the charity stripe. In addition to her eighth double-digit performance, Walker grabbed seven rebounds and collected three steals.
 
Virginia Tech built and early 14-9 lead on a Regan Magarity 3-pointer at the 4:25 mark. Fighting through the Hokie press, Radford caught fire after Claudia Quevedo slipped through two defenders for a driving left-handed layup.
 
The Quevedo layup sparked a 7-0 Highlander run as Jayda Worthy dumped a pass off from the free throw line to Sydney Nunley on the right block to cut the deficit to 14-13. Following the Nunley basket, Khiana Johnson single-handily broke the Hokie press, finding Walker for a layup off a nifty move. Walker was fouled on the play, completing the three-point play to give Radford its first lead at 16-14 with 2:47 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
After watching its lead vanish, Virginia Tech closed out the opening quarter with a 7-0 run to command a 21-16 lead.
 
Radford stopped the Hokie run early in the second quarter on two Walker free throws and a Janayla White putback off a Walker missed layup. The four-point swing cut the Virginia Tech lead to 22-20 at the 8:17 mark in the quarter.
 
Virginia Tech used another run, this time eight straight points to build its lead back to eight points as Chanette Hicks added four to give the Hokies a 30-20 advantage.
 
The Hokie defense held the Highlanders to only six points in the quarter as Walker grabbed a rebound, driving coast-to-coast to a layup to give her 14 first half points as Radford went into the locker room with a 34-22 deficit.
 
In the third quarter, Virginia Tech used a 14-0 run, while holding the Highlanders scoreless for a six-minute stretch in the quarter for a 28-6 advantage. Walker added four of Radford's six points in the quarter. Sidney Cook and Hicks added seven points apiece during the Hokie run.
 
Radford battled back in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hokies 22-13, while making a late attempt to chip away at the deficit. The Highlanders cut the deficit under 20 points after Jen Falconer poured in five straight points on a 3-pointer and a fast break mid-range jumper. Charnissa Chillers followed with an offensive rebound and layup for her first collegiate points as Radford dropped their seventh game in a row in the all-time series with a 71-52 decision.
 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Radford falls to 9-26 in the all-time series and 4-15 in games played in Blacksburg.
  • In a stretch of three straight games against Power 5 opponents, Radford went 1-2, defeating Wake Forest on Dec. 10.
  • In the two losses to Kentucky and Virginia Tech, Radford was outscored 130-88.
  • Destinee Walker has led the Highlanders in scoring seven times on the season.
  • She has scored double-figures in eight of Radford's 10 contests, including five with 15-plus points.
  • Walker matched Janayla White with a team-high seven rebounds. She has paced the Highlanders in rebounds in four games.
  • White had her streak of three straight games with 11 rebounds snapped. In addition to her seven rebounds; she finished with six points, three blocks, two assists and two steals.
  • The three blocks move her into sole possession of third place in career blocks in Radford history with 120.
  • In 18 minutes of action off the bench, Sydney Nunley finished with eight points and six rebounds. She joined White with three blocks.
  • Radford finished with a season-high eight blocks.
  • The Highlanders barely outshot the Hokies, 35.6 percent to 35.3 percent. Radford finished the game 21 of 49 from the field, while Virginia Tech made 24 of 68 attempts.
  • The 35.3 field-goal percentage is a season-low for the Hokies.
  • Despite only making three field goals, Virginia Tech made three more 3-pointers than the Hokies, while going 17 for 27 from the free throw line.
  • Led by Chanette Hicks, Virginia Tech's defense forced 19 Radford turnovers, including 11 steals. Hicks finished with eight steals, one shy of matching the Hokies single-game record.
  • Virginia Tech scored 24 points off the 19 turnovers.
  • Radford won the battle in the paint 30-28.

QUOTABLE
  • "I thought we started the game really well. For the most part, it was a well-played game in the first quarter. We had a sequence of turnovers and missed shots that really rattled us. We are going to have to learn how to handle adversity when things aren't necessarily going our way. Towards the end of the game, I did challenge them on playing with a lot of heart in the fourth quarter. I do like the fact that we did respond and played a better final quarter. The last couple of games have been hard on us, but we will learn a lot from those games before heading into conference play." ~ Radford head coach Mike McGuire

UP NEXT
  • Radford will take a break for the holiday season, returning to action on Dec. 31 against NCAA Division II Concord.
  • The New Year's Eve special is slated for a 2 p.m. tip.
  • The Highlanders own a 7-0 edge in the all-time series.
  • Radford won the last meeting 92-36 on Dec. 12, 2015.
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