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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
CateCarlsonWBBOhio
Rob Simmons
72
Winner Ohio Ohio 5-3,0-0 MAC
67
Radford Rad 6-6,0-0 Big South
Winner
Ohio Ohio
5-3,0-0 MAC
72
Final
67
Radford Rad
6-6,0-0 Big South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ohio Ohio 12 26 10 24 72
Radford Rad 16 16 15 20 67

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Highlanders’ Hectic Comeback Comes up Short

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball team (6-6) nearly pulled off another comeback for the ages. Trailing by double-digits in the closing minute, the Highlanders got the deficit to one point before ultimately falling to Ohio, 72-67, on Saturday at the Dedmon Center.

KEY STATS
  • Joi Williams led Radford once again with double figures, scoring 18 points.
  • The Highlanders struggled mightily from the free throw line, finishing 12-for-26 as a team (46.2%).
  • Ohio won the rebounding battle, 51-45, and outscored Radford in the paint 32-16.
PLAY BY PLAY
Both sides tried to get their offense going from behind the three-point arc, and neither side converted much in the first quarter. Radford built a small lead after Ellie Taylor's driving layup made it 8-4, but Ohio went on a mini 5-0 spurt to take the lead. Some nice takes to the basket by Taylor and Ava Sawi put the Highlanders up four at the end of the first quarter.

The Highlanders continued a 7-0 run to push their lead up to nine points to open the second quarter. This burst was fueled by Sawi, who scored on back-to-back trips for six early points. The Bobcats then began to hit shots from everywhere on the floor, answering with a quick 11 points to Radford's one to lead near the end of the second frame. Three trifectas made by Kirah Dandridge, Anaiah Jenkins, and Williams kept the Highlanders close, but Ohio found ways to answer and lead 38-32 at the break.

Radford slowly kept chipping away at the deficit in the third quarter, in part from some nice work underneath by Angelina Nice and Williams continuing to heat up in the second half. The Highlanders held Ohio to just three made shots over the final 6:40 of the third quarter to trail by just one heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

The lead swapped hands several times early in the fourth quarter. Georgia Simonsen's three-point play to begin the chapter gave the Highlanders their first lead since early in the second quarter. After Ohio answered, it was Williams' turn to score three with an and one. The Bobcats would turn up the defensive pressure, and their 10-0 run seemed to spell doom for Radford, extending the visitors' advantage to 11 points with 1:18 remaining.

When the game seemed nearly finished, Williams hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to get the deficit to seven with 34 seconds left. Then, a steal on the proceeding in-bounds play led to a quick Cate Carlson tray cutting the deficit to four with 28 seconds left. After Ohio hit one free throw, Nice's three-pointer made it a two-point game with 22 seconds left. The Bobcats would turn it over and give Carlson a chance to tie it with two free throws at the 13-second mark. The junior made one of two, and Ohio would make a pair of free throws to get it back to a three-point game with 10 seconds left. On the proceeding possession, Williams traveled before shooting what would have been a game-tying three-point attempt, and Ohio would ice the game with two more free throws to hang on for a 72-67 final.

McGUIRE QUOTABLE
"(It was a) tough loss," said Head Coach Mike McGuire to begin the press conference. "But I think all the credit goes to Ohio. I think they came in here and played their style and their way. I think, bottom line, they executed better than we did. That's something we're going to need to address tomorrow in our film session. You have to credit them and how they played. Obviously, we did not execute well in terms of our shooting. The three-point line and free throw line were not really acceptable. For us to be a division I program, you can't shoot the ball like that and expect to win the game. We got outplayed and they deserved to win."

UP NEXT
The Highlanders will not have to wait long to turn the page. They'll host NCAA Division II Concord on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Dedmon Center. Follow along on ESPN+ or on the Radford Sports Radio Network WRAD 1460 AM.

Follow Women's Basketball on Social Media
For more information on the Radford women's basketball team, follow @Radford_WBB on X and Instagram or Radford Women's Basketball on Facebook.
#RadfordTough | #RiseAndDefend
 
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