RADFORD OPENS HOLIDAY CLASSIC WITH 71-65 WIN OVER ACU

Thursday, December 21

Las Vegas, Nev.

3:00 PM

Radford University

4-5

Abilene Christian

6-3

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Radford	16	17	25	13	71
Abilene Christian	8	20	18	19	65

Photo by: Radford Athletics Communications

RADFORD OPENS HOLIDAY CLASSIC WITH 71-65 WIN OVER ACU

12/21/2017 6:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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GAME INFORMATION

Score: Radford 71, Abilene Christian 65
Records: Highlanders (5-4) | Wildcats (5-4)
Location: South Point Arena | Las Vegas, Nev.

LAS VEGAS – Radford held off a late Abilene Christian comeback as the Highlanders opened the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic with a 71-65 victory, placing three players in double-figures Thursday afternoon inside the South Point Arena.

The Highlanders were led by Lydia Rivers' third career double-double as the redshirt sophomore finished with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Rivers finished 7 for 11 from the field, while grabbing six offensive rebounds.

Coming off the bench to play 31 minutes, Destinee Walker turned in a team-high 19 points, while dishing out a season-high six assists. Providing big shots late in the game, Claudia Quevedo finished 4 for 4 from behind the arc to match a season best 15 points.

Leading 33-28 at halftime, Radford increased its lead with a strong third quarter, scoring 25 points. The Highlanders gained momentum with a 7-0 swing three minutes into the quarter. Following layups by Jayda Worthy and Rivers, Quevedo provided three points in the hustle category at the seven-minute mark.

She chased down an offensive rebound, throwing a long pass to Jen Falconer at the top of the key, then ran straight to the corner to drain a 3-pointer for a Radford 43-32 lead.

Following two Rivers' free throws and a Khiana Johnson jumper, Radford took a 13-4 run into the media timeout to command a 49-36 lead. The Wildcats chipped away at the deficit until Quevedo scored the final five Highlander points on a 3-pointer and a layup to beat the buzzer.

Trailing 58-46, Abilene Christian did not back down, opening the final frame on an 12-2 swing off of two 3-pointers by Dominque Golightly, cutting the once double-digit deficit to 60-58 with 5:25 remaining.

Walker ended an almost four-minute scoreless streak by the Highlanders with a jumper at the 4:31 clip and followed with two free throws to build Radford's lead back to 64-58.

The Wildcats made one final run, this time a 7-0 swing as a Golightly jumper handed Abilene Christian its first lead (65-64) with 2:18 remaining in regulation.

Knocking down clutch 3-pointers in big moments through the game, Quevedo calmly drained her fourth to give Walker her sixth assist at the 2:01 mark, putting the Highlanders back up 67-65.

Radford's defense held the Wildcats to only three shots down the stretch and Walker tallied the final five points to hand the Highlanders a 71-65 thrilling victory in a wild second half.

INSIDE THE BOX

The last time Lydia Rivers tallied double-figures came on Jan. 16, 2016 in a 10-point effort at Longwood. Rivers' previous career best came in a 13-point performance against Liberty on Jan. 2, 2016.
Rivers now has five career games with double-digit points and three career double-doubles.
In the first half, Rivers had 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting and six rebounds.
Destinee Walker collected her fifth double-figure game with a season best 19 points.
She has now led Radford in points in three games on the season.
Claudia Quevedo scored 15 points for the second time on the season matched a career-high four 3-pointers.
Quevedo is 8 for 10 from downtown over the last three games.
Radford shot a blistering 49.0 percent from the field, making 25 of 51 attempts.
The Highlanders have shot over 40-percent three times on the season.
Corralling 35 rebounds, Radford turned 13 offensive boards into 16 points.
Both teams combined for 54 points in the paint.
Dominque Golightly finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats.
Abilene Christian forced 17 turnovers, scoring 20 points off the Radford miscues.

QUOTEABLE

"I really liked our third quarter play when we got up 15 points. Our team has to learn how to play with a lead like that. Today, we just relaxed too much in the fourth quarter. We made enough plays down the stretch and Claudia's [Quevedo] 3-pointer to give us the lead back was a big time shot. Lydia [Rivers] was more assertive on the offensive end today and her first half performance carried us into halftime." ~ Radford head coach Mike McGuire

UP NEXT

Former Big South foes, Radford and Towson will meet for the first time since Nov. 25, 2008 on Friday in a 12 p.m. PST/3 p.m. EST battle to conclude the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic for both teams.
The Tigers took a 59-53 victory on their home floor in the last meeting.
The two teams met in non-conference games in 2007 and 2008 with Towson collecting both wins.
Radford's last win over Towson came in the 1995 Big South Tournament semifinals with a 90-73 victory on March 10.
Towson leads the all-time series 7-2.