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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
WBBatVT122125
Ethan Neal
47
Radford Rad 8-7,0-0 Big South
79
Winner Virginia Tech VT 11-3,1-1 ACC
Radford Rad
8-7,0-0 Big South
47
Final
79
Virginia Tech VT
11-3,1-1 ACC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Radford Rad 9 15 10 13 47
Virginia Tech VT 11 20 20 28 79

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Radford Ends Non-Conference Play with Loss at Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Radford women's basketball team (8-7) had Hokie fans sweating in the first half before faltering in a 79-47 loss to Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum.

KEY STATS
  • Georgia Simonsen tied a career high with 15 points. She became the first Radford freshman to reach double figures against Virginia Tech since Jayda Worthy had 13 points on Dec. 21, 2014.
  • The Highlanders led in several moments in the first half, their largest being 20-17 with 5:55 left before half.
  • Radford once again grabbed 40+ rebounds but lost the rebounding battle 54-45. Anaiah Jenkins grabbed 12 boards to lead the team.
  • The Highlanders finish non-conference play with eight wins, the most since the 2007-08 season.
PLAY BY PLAY
Radford matched Virginia Tech through much of the first quarter. Ellie Taylor got the Highlanders started with a nice driving layup to tie it at 2-2 in the opening minute. Kirah Dandridge and Williams followed with made shots from beyond the arc, briefly giving Radford an 8-7 advantage. After a Virginia Tech basket to make it 11-9, neither side scored over the final three and a half minutes of the opening quarter.

The Highlanders continued to answer Hokie buckets to open the second quarter. Williams scored to tie things at 11 on a driving basket, and Simonsen hit a turn-around jumper from close range to even it again at 13. The freshman found herself at the line on the next trip and sank those free ones to keep it tied. Cate Carlson's three-pointer gave Radford an 18-17 advantage midway through the quarter, with Simonsen extending that to 20-17 after a stop. However, the Hokies finished the half on a 10-2 run to lead by seven at the break.

Simonsen and the Highlanders tried their best to keep within striking range for the end, but the Hokies offense proved too much. Several key baskets early in the quarter, including Simonen's second three-pointer of the season, kept it a 10-point deficit midway through the third. Virginia Tech managed to get good looks underneath and fouls to cash in on some free throws and extend their lead up to 17 points by the end of the third.

Though it was more or less over by the fourth quarter, it got out of hand at the very end for Radford. Carlson managed to get the deficit under 20 points on several occasions after hitting a three-pointer a couple minutes in, then drawing a foul underneath and converting a pair of free throws with just under six minutes remaining. The Hokies closed the game on a 7-0 run to make it a rout, taking the final 79-47.

McGUIRE QUOTABLE
"Today was a great environment," said Head Coach Mike McGuire to open the postgame press conference. "I really admire what Virginia Tech does to support their women's basketball here. It's awesome. I think the first 20 minutes we played well. We missed a lot of layups. Actually, we missed a lot of layups the whole game. I think they slowly wore us down (in) the second half. We didn't maintain the same effort that we needed. That's unfortunate. But good teams will do that to you. Did not end the way we wanted it to, but a lot of lessons we can take that will help us in Big South play on New Year's Eve."

UP NEXT
The Highlanders have a break before starting conference play. They'll travel to South Carolina for a game against Presbyterian on New Year's Eve. Tipoff is at Noon from the home of the Blue Hose and can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on 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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