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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
JoiWilliams
Rob Simmons
68
Charleston So. ChaSou 10-18,7-8 Big South
81
Winner Radford Rad 12-17,8-7 Big South
Charleston So. ChaSou
10-18,7-8 Big South
68
Final
81
Radford Rad
12-17,8-7 Big South
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Charleston So. ChaSou 21 18 13 16 68
Radford Rad 18 22 20 21 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Offense Catches Fire as Women’s Basketball Breaks Through for Dominant Win

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball program caught fire for a dominant victory over Charleston Southern Wednesday night in their final home game of the season 81-68.

The Highlanders offensive outburst was led by career-high performances from two players entering the starting lineup in Joi Williams (17 points) and Ellie Taylor (12 points). The duo also combined for six three pointers to give Radford its best three-point performance of the season.

Needing a good start to the contest, it was Taylor who started the night right converting Radford's first bucket 30 seconds in. Williams followed with her first three and Terissa Lavoile-Brice scored her first points for the early 7-2 lead.

The Buccaneers and Highlanders traded shots to keep things close until back-to-back jumpers from Olivia Wagner pushed the lead back to 15-10. The Buccaneers ended the first quarter on an 11-3 run however, only broken up by a three-pointer from Ashlyn Traylor-Walker that made it a 21-18 Charleston Southern lead.

With the offense struggling to hit, the spark came from an unexpected but electric place. Freshman Arshae Jackson, who saw her most playing time of the season tonight, hit a wide-open three for her first career points that tied the game at 23-all. Williams followed her with an and-one that put Radford back up 26-25.

After a Buccaneers 6-2 run, the offense got back to work getting five points from Taylor and Pa'Shence Traylor-Walker checking in for her first points. Williams stayed hot scoring Radford's last five points of the half to give the team a 40-39 advantage.

The offense would not slow down coming out of the break as Ashlyn and Lavoile-Brice quickly sparked a 4-0 run in the first 40 seconds forcing a Buccaneers timeout. The timeout worked for the opponents as they went on a 7-0 run of their own to reclaim a 46-44 lead.

Taylor snapped that run with a three for the lead and Williams followed her with another three to pad the lead. Things didn't stop there, as Lavoile-Brice got back-to-back makes while Wagner and Williams combined for two more threes to give Radford its biggest lead so far at 60-48 thanks to a 16-2 run.

The Buccaneers tightened things with two straight makes to end the third and another layup to start the fourth that made it a 60-54 Radford lead. Ashlyn stopped that run, and from the 8:38 mark in the fourth to the 6:30 mark Radford went on another huge 8-0 run with and-ones from Pa'Shence and Lavoile-Brice.

Up 70-56, the Highlanders cruised the rest of the way. Winding down the shot clock, it was Wagner who got two impressive floaters to fall before the buzzer to secure some crucial late scoring. Despite being outsized, Radford also controlled the boards over the final quarter with four offensive rebounds that helped tick away precious time. When all was said and done, Radford came out with the statement 81-68 victory on the home floor.

NOTABLES
  • Radford was led by five different players scoring double figures tonight including Ashlyn (18), Williams (17), Taylor (12), Wagner (12) and Lavoile-Brice (12). It's the first time Radford has had 5+ players score 10+ points since March 2nd, 2023, against Presbyterian in the Big South quarterfinals.
  • Radford's win snaps one of the most peculiar streaks in the conference this season. Coming in, Charleston Southern was 7-0 on Wednesday's and 0-7 on Saturdays. Radford is the first Big South squad to hand Charleston Southern a weekday loss.
  • Radford shot 59% from three tonight, their greatest performance this season on 17 attempts. Williams led the way with four makes while Ashlyn and Taylor also hit a pair.
  • The Highlanders won the turnover battle tonight by a wide margin, totaling eight which ties a season low while forcing 19 Buccaneers turnovers.
  • Ashlyn recorded five assists tonight, marking the fifth such occurrence for her this season.
  • Radford shot 45% overall from the floor tonight, their best shooting performance since shooting 47% against Winthrop on January 13th, 2024.
 
UP NEXT
The regular season concludes Saturday afternoon for Radford who hits the road to face UNC Asheville. The Highlanders and Bulldogs will close out the 2023-24 campaign with a 2 p.m. tip 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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