HIGHLANDERS CONTINUE TO PLAY STIFLING DEFENSE; DEFEAT PRESBYTERIAN FOR A SEASON-HIGH FOURTH STRAIGHT VICTORY

Tuesday, January 22

Radford

7 p.m.

Radford University

12-6 (6-1BSC)

Presbyterian

4-13 (2-4BSC)

Team	1	2	3	4	F
PC	3	14	16	16	49
Radford	8	17	23	11	59

HIGHLANDERS CONTINUE TO PLAY STIFLING DEFENSE; DEFEAT PRESBYTERIAN FOR A SEASON-HIGH FOURTH STRAIGHT VICTORY

1/22/2019 10:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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Postgame Interview | Mike McGuire

Postgame Interview | Guard/Forward Destinee Walker

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball team won their fourth consecutive contest for the first time this season as the Highlanders defeated the Presbyterian Blue Hose, 59-49, on Tuesday evening at the Dedmon Center.  Radford (12-6, 6-1 Big South) improved to 7-1 on their home floor and they have held their last four opponents under 50 points.

Junior redshirt forward Lydia Rivers secured her fourth consecutive double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action as she was in foul trouble most of the evening. Senior guard/forward Destinee Walker also registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, her third of the campaign. Junior guard Khiana Johnson added 16 points and a team-high four assists, while redshirt junior center Sydney Nunley (10 boards, 5 blocks) was in double-figure rebounds for the ninth straight contest.

"Tonight was a very intense and physical basketball game," said Highlander head coach Mike McGuire. "It was a hard fought win by us. I thought Presbyterian came in here with a great game plan and they played as hard as anyone that we have faced in quite some time. I thought we made enough plays in the third quarter to get the win."

The Highlanders continue to play stifling defense as the nation's 23rd -ranked squad in scoring defense held the Blue Hose to a 31 percent (18-of-58) shooting clip, including 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from long-distance.

Radford got out to an extremely slow offensive start as they failed to record their first bucket until the 4:51 mark of the opening quarter when Walker finished an offensive rebound with a layup. Walker then came up with a steal and a layup to give the hosts the lead for good, 5-3, with 3:12 left in the opening stanza.

The Highlanders, who led 8-3 after the opening quarter, outscored Presbyterian by a 11-2 margin over the first 2:46 of the second period to build a 19-5 advantage. Rivers scored the first nine points by herself and Johnson capped the spurt with a steal and layup.

Presbyterian (4-13, 2-4 BSC) answered with a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to just 22-17 with 51 seconds remaining before halftime.  Johnson then drilled a trifecta with 20 ticks left to give the Highlanders some breathing room and a 25-17 edge at the break.

Radford enjoyed their most productive quarter of the evening in the third quarter as they outscored the visitors by a 23-16 margin and shot a red-hot 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the floor.  Walker scored 11 points and connected on all four of her field goal attempts in the period.

A layup by Rivers capped a 12-2 surge out of the locker room, giving Radford their largest lead of the game at 37-19 with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter. The Highlanders settled for a 48-33 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Nunley converted inside to give the Highlanders their largest lead of the fourth quarter, 54-37, with just 5:22 remaining in the contest.

The Blue Hose managed to score nine unanswered points to inch within 54-46 after Shamani Stafford hit a trey with 1:20 left. However, Johnson scored on a layup to seal the victory with 56 seconds left.

Radford outscored Presbyterian by a 36-22 margin in the paint and scored 18 points off of 15 turnovers.

The Highlanders will travel to Campbell on Saturday afternoon.