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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
WBB-QF-20170310
Todd Drexler | Big South Conference
51
Gardner-Webb GWU 12-19
54
Winner Radford RAD 23-7
Gardner-Webb GWU
12-19
51
Final
54
Radford RAD
23-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gardner-Webb GWU 12 13 15 11 51
Radford RAD 11 17 14 12 54

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

RADFORD ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS WITH THRILLING 54-51 WIN



GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: No. 1 Radford 54, No. 8 Gardner-Webb 51
  • Records: Highlanders (23-7) | Runnin' Bulldogs (12-19)
  • Round: Big South Tournament Quarterfinals
  • Location: Vines Center | Lynchburg, Va.
 
LYNCHBURG, Va. – It appears that most of the 12 calendar months have some type of folklore attached and March is no different as the phrase "Survive and Advance" holds true meaning as top-seeded Radford held on for a thrilling 54-51 Big South Tournament quarterfinal win over No. 8 Gardner-Webb in Friday matinee action.
 
The Highlanders (23-7) treated a mostly dominated Radford crowd to an afternoon delight, even if the game turned into a rollercoaster of emotions in the second half.
 
Using a 10-0 run to start the second quarter, Radford pushed its lead to as many as nine points in the quarter, before Tierra Huntsman closed out the half with a 3-pointer to cut the Highlander lead to 28-25.
 
Radford's run was kick started as Destinee Walker rattled off eight straight points on a pair of three-point field goals to lead the Highlanders in points at the half.
 
It appeared that the Highlanders would look the put away the Runnin' Bulldogs (12-19) early in the second half, scoring the first nine points of the half, extending lead to 12 points.
 
Walker picked up two of her team-high three assists on back-to-back baskets midway through the third quarter. The first assist came on a Jayda Worthy fastbreak layup set up by nice defensive play from Janayla White and the second assist came on a Khiana Johnson 3-pointer from the left-wing.
 
After two Ky'Asia Stanford free throws and an Alexus Hill jumper, Claudia Quevedo drained a corner pocket 3-pointer off an inside-out pass from Sydney Nunley to hand the Highlanders a 42-29 lead.
 
Gardner-Webb stormed back, scoring the final 11 points of the third quarter as Huntsman scored eight of the points, while playing with four fouls. For the second straight quarter, Huntsman ended the 10-minute frame with a buzzer beater 3-pointer, this time cutting the Radford lead to 42-40.
 
Thirty-five seconds into the final quarter, Huntsman knotted the game at 42 on a layup as the Runnin' Bulldog defense held Radford without a field goal since the Quevedo 3-pointer at the 2:56 mark in the third. The Radford field goal drought totaled a time of 9:33.
 
White ended the streak with an offensive rebound putback to tie the game at 46 with 3:13 remaining in regulation. The Runnin' Bulldogs regained the lead (49-46) on a Kiera Currie 3-pointer 14 seconds later.
 
On the next Radford possession, Walker inched the Highlanders within one on a layup and Worthy sealed the lead for good with an offensive rebound putback. Commanding a 50-49 lead, Radford looked to pad its lead and did on two Johnson free throws.
 
Trailing 52-49, Celia Tibbs inched the Runnin' Bulldogs within one on a layup with 44.8 seconds left.
 
Radford looked to run clock with just under 45 seconds remaining in the final quarter. Quevedo was called for an offensive foul as the redshirt sophomore cut through the lane with 19.6 seconds on the clock, giving Gardner-Webb a chance to take the lead.
 
Following a timeout to advance the ball past the time line, Radford's smothering defense forced a Huntsman turnover on the baseline as the tandem of White and Worthy hovered over the Runnin' Bulldog guard.
 
Gardner-Webb needed to foul three times to send the Highlanders to the free throw line. With 5.7 seconds remaining, Quevedo received her to chance to make up for the turnover, making two free throws as Radford advanced to its second straight tournament semifinals with a 54-51 decision.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • With the win, Radford will make its second consecutive Big South Tournament semifinal appearance under head coach Mike McGuire.
  • Radford improves to 15-10 all-time during the quarterfinals.
  • The Highlanders improve to 26-9 as the higher seed in the tournament, while improving to 3-2 in tournament games played inside the Vines Center.
  • Radford and Gardner-Webb had previously met twice in the conference tournament with the Runnin' Bulldogs taking both meetings. The Highlander win avenged a 70-56 loss in 2015 quarterfinals as Gardner-Webb upset No. 2 Radford.
  • For only the 11th time on the season, Radford shot under 40 percent, finishing with a 32.7 performance from the field. The Highlanders made 18 of 55 shots.
  • The Highlanders made 13 of 16 free throw attempts, finishing with an 81.3 percentage.
  • Radford's defense turned 12 Gardner-Webb miscues into 16 points.
  • Controlling a 43-40 rebound advantage, Radford turned 11 offensive boards into 12 points.
  • Janayla White collected the 21st double-double of her career with a 12-point, 15-rebound performance.
  • Khiana Johnson followed with 11 points off the bench as Radford only scored 13 bench points.
  • Destinee Walker finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
  • Just missing her seventh double-double on the season, Jayda Worthy finished with nine points and eight points.
  • Radford matched a season-high 10 blocks. Worthy totaled four blocks, matching a season high set in the first game of the season. White contributed three blocks.
  • The Highlanders led for 24:00, while the game was tied for 9:16
 
QUOTABLE
  • "I think in every tournament, you experience a game like this. We had to fight, compete and grind today. In a lot of ways, we were very fortunate to win today. I think a lot of it comes down to we need more experience in settings like this. Our kids continue to fight and compete no matter the situation. The two free throws by Claudia [Quevedo] are interesting. She was in a situation like this earlier in the season, where she told me she was nervous. For her to stay poised and composed in this setting was huge." ~ Radford head coach Mike McGuire
 
UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's first quarterfinal matchup will advance to Saturday's semifinals where it will await the winner between No. 4 seed Liberty and No. 5 seed Charleston Southern. Tipoff of the second semifinal is slated for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
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