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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
TaniyaHanner
Rob Simmons
46
UNC Asheville AVL 7-12,1-5 Big South
59
Winner Radford Rad 9-11,5-1 Big South
UNC Asheville AVL
7-12,1-5 Big South
46
Final
59
Radford Rad
9-11,5-1 Big South
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UNC Asheville AVL 10 8 13 15 46
Radford Rad 10 16 12 21 59

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Hanner Catches Fire for 22 Points in Gritty Win Over UNC Asheville

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball program bounced back with a gritty home win Wednesday night as the team fought through shooting woes and used a 22-point performance from Taniya Hanner for the 59-46 win over UNC Asheville.

Offense was not easy to come by in the meeting as both teams' defenses were sharp for a majority of the game. Thanks to a 50% shooting performance in the fourth quarter, Radford pulled away while still holding UNC Asheville to just 23% overall on the game.

Early on the defensive struggle was clear. The Highlanders burst out the gates for the first five points of the game over two minutes. Hanner got the scoring started and her partner in crime on the night, Pa'Shence Traylor-Walker, was right there for a bucket as well.

Radford held the slim lead until a Bulldogs three-pointer had them pull ahead with 5:10 left in the first. Out of the media timeout, Terissa Lavoile-Brice punched back with a second chance layup and a Hanner free throw saw the game tied at 10-all by the end of the first quarter.

The scoring stayed cold into the second quarter as a Hanner layup was the only made shot from the field until the 5:02 mark. Leading 13-12, Hanner and Pa'Shence combined for a pair of layups to push the lead to 17-12. Over the final 1:16 of the half, the Highlanders went on a 7-2 run fueled by another make by Hanner and Ashlyn Traylor-Walkers first points of the night for a 26-18 halftime lead.

Radford's biggest lead of the night wouldn't last long as UNC Asheville stormed back to start the second half. Going on a 7-0 run of their own forcing a Radford timeout, the Highlanders were held scoreless until the 4:40 mark in the third quarter. Leading just 26-25, it was Joi Williams who came off the bench and provided a spark with a quick layup behind the Bulldogs defense.

Hanner would sink two free throws and Ashlyn broke Radford's 0-7 streak from three-point range with a huge make from deep that made it a 34-25 lead, the biggest of the night. Hanner extended that lead to 36-25 with another layup before UNC Asheville scored the final six points of the quarter to keep things close at 38-31 headed into the fourth.

Four straight points by UNC Asheville in the fourth had the opponents once again threatening Radford's lead at 38-35. Needing an answer, it was Williams again who nailed a three-pointer to make it 41-35 with 8:13 to go. Bria Beverly added a three of her own to extend the lead to 44-37 and it was Hanner putting the seal on the deal with a three-pointer to make it 47-37 with six minutes to go.

Beverly got another big layup to tie her season-high in points to keep the offense on pace while Hanner scored five straight points to keep it a 10-point lead. The shots wouldn't fall for the Bulldogs and after a few free throws by Ashlyn, Radford was able to hang on for the 59-46 win.
 
NOTABLES
  • Hanner colored in the box score tonight with an electric 22 points, three blocks and 11 rebounds for her most impressive double-double yet.
  • Despite being limited due to foul trouble, Ashlyn still found the time to score 9 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 rebounds and never fouled out.
  • After starting the game 0-7 from deep, Radford finished the game strong shooting 4-7 from three-point range.
  • Radford doubled up UNC Asheville's total paint points, 32-16.
  • The Bulldogs were a perfect 13 for 13 from the free throw line tonight, the first Radford opponent to do so this season in minimum eight attempts.
  • Radford held UNC Asheville to just 15 makes on 65 total shot attempts tonight, good for their best defensive shooting performance of the season at 23.1%.
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
  • Charleston Southern (3-3) claimed another road victory in dominant fashion, downing Winthrop (3-4) 63-54 behind three different players in double figures scoring.
  • USC Upstate (5-1) claimed a big victory at High Point (4-2) as the Spartans shot 47% from three and got 14 points from Trinity Johnson.
  • Gardner-Webb (2-4) scored early and often to cruise to victory on the home court 74-59 over Longwood (2-5) as Grace Pack came off the bench for 15 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders stick to inside the Dedmon Center when they host alumni weekend this upcoming weekend hosting Presbyterian for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday, January 27th with all the action streaming on ESPN+.
 
Follow Women's Basketball on Social Media
For more information on the Radford women's basketball team, follow @Radford_WBB on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Women's Basketball on Facebook.
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