Women's Basketball 3/4/2023 9:29:00 PM

Women’s Basketball’s Valiant Effort to Upend Gardner-Webb Comes Up Just Short in Big South Semifinals

BOX SCORE CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Radford women's basketball team played in another thriller Saturday night in the Big South Semifinals against the top-seeded Gardner-Webb, coming up just short in overtime 89-81.

Through the entire regulation 40 minutes, Radford never trailed against the conference leaders. Right away the Highlanders delivered the first punch thanks to a Vanessa Blake put-back. Carmen Williams hit her first of many shots of the night to make it 4-0. An and-one by Blake accentuated the start and made it 7-2 to start the game.

From there, the Highlanders offense rolled and looked nearly unstoppable. Rachel LaLonde, Williams and Ashlyn Traylor were all true in their shots to put Radford further ahead 14-7. Four straight points by Traylor with two at the charity stripe put Radford even further ahead at 18-9. The Gardner-Webb leaning crowd was stunned and the Radford faithful put their full energy into the team.

Radford fed off that energy, continuing to go toe-to-toe with the experienced Runnin' Bulldogs. After Gardner-Webb got a 10-0 run to end the first quarter, Traylor stopped that run with a pair of free throws to put Radford up 28-21. After some chaos under the bucket, a huge three-pointer by Tatiana Beaumont had Radford up 31-23 with 7:30 left in the half.

After another LaLonde bucket, Beaumont struck again from deep to put Radford up double digits. Even Gardner-Webb's electric offense couldn't keep up as Williams and Wagner landed continuous punches from deep with three-pointers that gave Radford a 42-29 lead.

At the half Radford officially had Gardner-Webb on upset alert up 44-40. Thanks to 56% shooting overall and a blistering 66% from three, Radford's offense was too much to handle. Traylor led at halftime with 12 points while Williams wasn't far behind with eight. 10 second chance points also painted the dominant picture for Radford.

After the halftime break, Radford didn't let up. It was foot on the gas pedal for the Highlanders as Blake and Williams combined to counter the early attack by Gardner-Webb. Traylor nailed a huge three-pointer at the seven-minute mark of the third that had Radford ahead 52-44. Radford would then score eight straight points from the free throw line capped by an and-one by Williams for the 67-59 lead headed into the final quarter.

The race to the finish was on as both offenses would continue to throw punch after punch. A flurry of turnovers would have both teams scoreless for three minutes and a Williams three-pointer broke the cold spell to put Radford up 74-69. Over the final two minutes Radford would be held scoreless as the Runnin' Bulldogs stormed back. Radford's defense didn't falter either, but Gardner-Webb forced overtime with a 5-0 run to close the fourth and tie the game at 74-all.

Now in overtime it was do or die for both squads. In only the second overtime performance of the season for Radford and first for Gardner-Webb, both teams were fighting tired tournament legs and foul trouble. Gardner-Webb took advantage of some miscues and built themselves a six-point lead to open the overtime period. Radford got big free throws form Williams and a huge three-pointer by Beaumont, but the Runnin' Bulldogs held on for the 89-81 win at the free throw line.

The young Highlanders squad can keep their heads held high after tonight's incredible game. The squad made up primarily of sophomores and freshmen went punch for punch with the conference's best senior-laden squad. While many had written the Highlanders off in favor of the 19-straight game-winning Runnin' Bulldogs, Radford never counted themselves out. With the belief they could take on anyone, Radford out-shot the Runnin' Bulldogs from three and set a Big South Tournament semifinal record hitting 22 of 24 free throws (91%).

Williams had ice in the veins all night setting a new career-high for points with 26 including a perfect nine-for-nine free throw performance. Traylor capped off her remarkable freshman season with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Wagner, Blake and Beaumont all also finished with eight or more points for Radford. LaLonde was clutch early in the game and Jackie Christ also provided a few big-time baskets down the stretch.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Vanessa Blake: C; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#50 Jackie Christ: C; 6' 3"; Senior

#0 Rachel LaLonde: F; 6' 1"; Senior

#23 Carmen Williams: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#11 Ashlyn Traylor-Walker: G; 5' 8"; Freshman

#25 Tatiana Beaumont: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#14 Vanessa Blake
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: C

#50 Jackie Christ
: 6' 3"; Senior
: C

#0 Rachel LaLonde
: 6' 1"; Senior
: F

#23 Carmen Williams
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#11 Ashlyn Traylor-Walker
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: G

#25 Tatiana Beaumont
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G