Radford Athletics Communications

Box Score

Radford RAD 24-8

Penn State PSU 16-16

Radford RAD

24-8

Final

Mar. 15, 2018

Penn State PSU

16-16

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	OT 1	F
Radford RAD	17	14	16	10	6	63
Penn State PSU	15	13	18	11	5	62

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 3/15/2018 10:30:00 PM

RADFORD LEAVES HAPPY VALLEY HAPPY WITH 63-62 WNIT FIRST ROUND WIN

Next Game:

at James Madison (Second Round)

3/17/2018 | 7:00 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule

Mar. 17 (Sat) / 7:00 PM

at James Madison (Second Round)

History

Recap
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GAME INFORMATION

Score: Radford 63, Penn State 62 (Overtime)
Records: Highlanders (24-8) | Nittany Lions (16-16)
Round: WNIT First Round
Location: Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After being upset in the Big South Tournament Semifinals, Radford was left with unfinished business and took care of some of that business with a 63-62 overtime win against Penn State in WNIT First Round action Thursday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

With the win, Radford becomes the first Big South team to win a WNIT game since 2013, while earning its third postseason win. The win over the Nittany Lions marks the first win over a Big Ten opponent in program history. With the win, head coach Mike McGuire picks up his second win over a Power 5 program in the last two seasons.

The Highlanders led by as many as eight points in the first half, however Penn State battled back in the third quarter as an 8-0 run handed the Nittany Lions a 40-34 lead with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter.

During Penn State's run, Radford was held scoreless for over three minutes before a Jayda Worthy layup snapped the streak to cut the deficit to four points. The Nittany Lions pushed the lead back to five points on a pair of free throws.

Radford stormed back with six straight points as Destinee Walker let go of a floater from the far short corner to give Radford the lead once again. The Highlanders ended the third quarter with a 47-46 lead.

Walker led the Highlanders with a team-high 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting, including a 3 for 5 effort from beyond the arc. The junior's third 3-pointer of the game came in a pivotal moment in the fourth quarter as she knocked down a deep ball after forcing a Penn State turnover to push Radford's lead to 52-48.

After being held scoreless for almost three minutes, Penn State battled back with a six-point swing to regain the lead once again at 54-52 with 4:39 remaining in regulation. The Nittany Lion defense held Radford without a point for a span of 3:56 until a Lydia Rivers offensive rebound putback knotted the game.

Draining five 3-pointers as a team, Khiana Johnson made a long ball from the corner pocket to put Radford up 57-54 as the sophomore added 10 points off the bench.

Penn State would knot the game once again as an Amari Carter jumper pulled the Nittany Lions within one with two minutes left in regulation. Following a Radford turnover, Penn State received a chance to take the lead as Worthy fouled Teniya Page on a drive to the basket.

Page would miss the frontend of the free throws, but made the second to knot the game at 57. Another Radford miscue would give the Nittany Lions a chance for the win. Holding for one shot, Page missed the game-winning 3-pointer as Radford headed to its third overtime game on the season.

Commanding a 2-0 record in extra time, Radford's defense went to work, holding Penn State scoreless until the 2:22 mark as a Janayla White layup gave the Highlanders the lead. White finished in double-figures with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting with seven rebounds.

Radford held a 61-59 edge after a Walker layup and Worthy free throw. The three-point advantage would be short lived as Worthy fouled Page on a three-point attempt with 41.4 remaining on the clock.

Fouling out, the senior headed to the bench with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals as Radford placed four in double-figures for the ninth time on the season.

Page made all three free throws to knot the game at 62. The Highlanders called timeout to advance the ball. Working in the paint, White was fouled with 17.7 seconds on the clock, making one of two attempts from the charity stripe.

With another game-winner attempt, Page's shot bounced out as Rivers was fouled on her game-high 10^th rebound of the game to seal Radford's first WNIT win since 1989. The back-and-forth contest saw 12 lead changes and nine ties.

INSIDE THE BOX

With the win, Radford improves to 8-1 in overtime games under Mike McGuire and 26-8 in games decided by three points or less since 2014-15.
Penn State's 62 points is the most allowed by the Radford defense since a 67-56 loss to UNC Asheville on Jan. 9.
The Highlander defense held Penn State to a 35.5 field goal percentage as Radford improved to 23-2 on the season when holding teams under 40-percent shooting.
Radford held a 32-26 edge in the paint, while outscoring Penn State's bench 18-8.
Forcing 21 turnovers, Radford turned the miscues into 19 points.
However, the Highlanders turned the ball over 23 times.
Radford held a 42-37 edge on the boards as four Highlanders pulled down six-plus rebounds.
Finishing with a 40.7 field goal percentage, Radford improved to 18-1 when shooting over 40-pecent on the season.
Making four field goals, Jayda Worthy is one away from becoming the fifth player in program history with 500 made field goals.
Janayla White blocked her 209th career shot, moving into ninth all-time in Big South history.
Finishing with five assists, Claudia Quevedo dished out three-plus assists for the 17^th time on the season.
Destinee Walker finished with four assists as Radford dished out 14 on 24 made field goals.
Five different Highlanders finished with two steals each as Radford finished with 13 as a team.

QUOTABLE

"What a big time win for our program. I wanted this team to show up and compete in postseason because they deserved the opportunity. I'm so proud of how they competed, stayed resilient and found a way to win a huge game. This was a back-and-forth game with small runs by both teams. We had some key plays by several players to help us find the way to win. We're excited to keep playing and look forward to Saturday." ~ Radford head coach Mike McGuire

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