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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
JoiWilliams
Rob Simmons
67
Longwood LWU 16-8,7-3 Big South
80
Winner Radford Rad 11-13,8-3 Big South
Longwood LWU
16-8,7-3 Big South
67
Final
80
Radford Rad
11-13,8-3 Big South
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Longwood LWU 18 18 20 11 67
Radford Rad 23 18 20 19 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Offense Stays Hot as Women’s Basketball Pushes Win Streak to Five Over Longwood

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball program earned their fifth straight victory Saturday afternoon over in-state rival Longwood behind an incredible offensive effort 80-67.
 
KEY STATS
  • Radford shot an even 50% on the day (28-56) hitting a season-high 13 three-pointers.
  • Joi Williams' 23 points are a single-game high by a Highlander this season, and a new career record for the sophomore.
  • Taylor Napper (14 points) and Makayla Firebaugh (12 points) also scored in double figures, with Firebaugh just missing a double-double with 8 points.
  • Radford assisted 22 out of 28 (79%) of their made shots with Williams, Firebaugh and Kirah Dandridge all recording five assists each.
  • Radford's 80 points are their most against a Division I opponent this season, their 41 first half points was also a season-high against a DI team.
  • Radford has now hit 10 or more three pointers in 6 of 11 Big South games.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
The first battle between these two squads earlier this season was a defensive one, but an opposite tone would be set right from the opening minutes. The Highlanders and Lancers traded baskets as Williams, Napper and Carlson all ignited the scoring early.
 
Seven straight points just three minutes into the game by that trio put Radford ahead 10-6. While the Lancers got offense from the free throw line, Radford caught fire from three as Cate Carlson hit a trio of three-pointers all before the first media timeout. Tied up at 16, Radford got a pair of makes from Adriana Shipp-Davis and a last second layup from Anna Stromberg to lead 23-18 after a quarter.
 
Longwood would race to tie things back up at 26 but threes from Williams and Napper paced Radford right back ahead. Radford would use the free throw line to their advantage over the final minutes of the half as Firebaugh hit four straight to put Radford up 41-36 halfway home.
 
Longwood would open the second half on a 7-2 run that would tie the game 46-all. The Highlanders would never trail, however, as a timely three from Williams and make from Firebaugh reestablished the lead. Another big three from Dandridge put Radford up 54-50 with 3:22 left in the third.
 
Thanks to another three by Williams and another late make from Stromberg, Radford would keep the lead at 61-56 headed into the final quarter. From there, the second-half Highlanders were as-advertised. Radford's offense came alive for a 7-0 run while holding the Lancers scoreless for over four minutes.
 
The threes kept falling for Radford as Williams and Dandridge connected again. Dandridge's three with 2:58 left in the game gave Radford its biggest lead so far at 74-63. Longwood would only get one made shot the rest of the way, and it was Radford who used its defensive and offensive intensity over the final couple of minutes to win 80-67.
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
  • USC Upstate held on for a tight 52-48 win at Winthrop.
  • High Point got back in the win column 66-52 at UNC Asheville.
  • Gardner-Webb earned a dominant road win 64-51 at Charleston Southern.
 
UP NEXT
Radford sticks to Dedmon for their next conference battle against Winthrop on Wednesday, February 12th. The Highlanders will host Disco Night with a 7 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 X and Instagram or Radford Women's Basketball on Facebook.
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