Monday, November 2
Clemson, S.C.
12:00 PM
Radford University
0-1,0-0Big South
47
at
68
Clemson
1-0,0-0ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radford | 12 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 47 |
| Clemson | 17 | 10 | 22 | 19 | 68 |
Photo by: Brian Yohe
11/2/2026 2:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CLEMSON, S.C. – The Radford Highlanders women's basketball team had the Tigers fans scattered throughout the Littlejohn Coliseum sweating for about 25 minutes of game action before being overcome by Clemson, 68-47, to open the season on Monday afternoon.
KEY STATS
Things were not going the Highlanders way at the start. Virginia Tech transfer Makayla Nelson took it out on her former New River Valley neighbors, scoring seven quick points as part of the Tigers' 9-0 run through the first three minutes. After Radford took a timeout, Nice broke the seal on the basket with a turnaround layup and scored once again a few minutes later. Clemson briefly led by 10 before Radford scored eight of the final 11 points to end the first quarter, including a couple of layups from Cherish Haywood. The sophomore drove the length of the court in the closing moments to just beat the horn and make it 17-12 after one.
The Highlander defense did their part in stopping Clemson and slowing their offense down in the second quarter, forcing four turnovers while holding the Tigers to go 0-for-6 from behind the arc. Georgia Simonsen secured a steal and drove the floor for her first points to make it 19-17 and followed with another great finish off glass to tie the game at 19-19. Radford refused to stop there, with Nice making back-to-back acrobatic hook shots in the paint to extend the Highlander lead to 25-21 just a couple minutes left before the break. Clemson managed to keep with it, scoring twice in the final minute to level things, 27-27, at half.
Kailyn Fields got going out of the half, sinking a pair of trifectas to get Radford's lead back to four points with 18 minutes left in regulation. That was the highest point of the game for the Highlanders, as Clemson responded. The Tigers went on a 13-2 run, with three shots from three-point territory, to pull out a seven-point advantage into the media timeout. Radford failed to get anything going offensively the rest of the quarter, failing to make a shot from the floor the rest of the quarter to trail by a dozen heading to the fourth quarter.
Nice appeared to find her stride again, making a bucket underneath to cut into the deficit in the first trip of the fourth. Clemson stayed hot from the field, however, hitting another three while creating difficult looks for Radford on the other end. A 7-0 run for the Tigers gave them a sturdy 60-41 advantage with five minutes left, essentially putting the game out of reach. Radford got it back down to a 15-point game before eventually falling to a team receiving votes in both the AP preseason poll and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches preseason poll, 68-47.
FROM COACH MCGUIRE
"This game provided valuable lessons that will help us moving forward," said coach McGuire postgame. "I thought we responded well in the first half and battled to a tie score at half. We will have to learn to maintain our discipline level after a team goes on a brief run and still compete to score offensively. We had also had quite a few bright spots that we will need to build upon as we have a huge opening week with two more games."
UP NEXT
The Highlanders host Bluefield University in their home opener on Wednesday, November 4 at the Dedmon Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale HERE, or fans can tune in on ESPN+, listen on 103.5 WRAD, or through the Monticello Media app.
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
KEY STATS
- Radford led for nearly seven minutes of game action throughout the second and third quarters.
- Angelina Nice and Kailyn Fields led the Highlanders in scoring with 12 points.
- Clemson just edged the Highlanders in field-goal percentage, 42 to 40, with Radford winning the rebounding battle 32-31.
- The Tigers took charge in the second half, forcing nine turnovers while not committing any and outscoring Radford 16-0 in points off second half turnovers.
- Radford falls to 5-9 in season openers under Mike McGuire and are 3-21 since moving up to Division I in 1984-85 when it is a true road game.
Things were not going the Highlanders way at the start. Virginia Tech transfer Makayla Nelson took it out on her former New River Valley neighbors, scoring seven quick points as part of the Tigers' 9-0 run through the first three minutes. After Radford took a timeout, Nice broke the seal on the basket with a turnaround layup and scored once again a few minutes later. Clemson briefly led by 10 before Radford scored eight of the final 11 points to end the first quarter, including a couple of layups from Cherish Haywood. The sophomore drove the length of the court in the closing moments to just beat the horn and make it 17-12 after one.
The Highlander defense did their part in stopping Clemson and slowing their offense down in the second quarter, forcing four turnovers while holding the Tigers to go 0-for-6 from behind the arc. Georgia Simonsen secured a steal and drove the floor for her first points to make it 19-17 and followed with another great finish off glass to tie the game at 19-19. Radford refused to stop there, with Nice making back-to-back acrobatic hook shots in the paint to extend the Highlander lead to 25-21 just a couple minutes left before the break. Clemson managed to keep with it, scoring twice in the final minute to level things, 27-27, at half.
Kailyn Fields got going out of the half, sinking a pair of trifectas to get Radford's lead back to four points with 18 minutes left in regulation. That was the highest point of the game for the Highlanders, as Clemson responded. The Tigers went on a 13-2 run, with three shots from three-point territory, to pull out a seven-point advantage into the media timeout. Radford failed to get anything going offensively the rest of the quarter, failing to make a shot from the floor the rest of the quarter to trail by a dozen heading to the fourth quarter.
Nice appeared to find her stride again, making a bucket underneath to cut into the deficit in the first trip of the fourth. Clemson stayed hot from the field, however, hitting another three while creating difficult looks for Radford on the other end. A 7-0 run for the Tigers gave them a sturdy 60-41 advantage with five minutes left, essentially putting the game out of reach. Radford got it back down to a 15-point game before eventually falling to a team receiving votes in both the AP preseason poll and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches preseason poll, 68-47.
FROM COACH MCGUIRE
"This game provided valuable lessons that will help us moving forward," said coach McGuire postgame. "I thought we responded well in the first half and battled to a tie score at half. We will have to learn to maintain our discipline level after a team goes on a brief run and still compete to score offensively. We had also had quite a few bright spots that we will need to build upon as we have a huge opening week with two more games."
UP NEXT
The Highlanders host Bluefield University in their home opener on Wednesday, November 4 at the Dedmon Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale HERE, or fans can tune in on ESPN+, listen on 103.5 WRAD, or through the Monticello Media app.
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
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballTeam Stats
Rad
CU
FG%
.365
.433
3FG%
.214
.296
FT%
1.000
.615
RB
34
34
TO
18
8
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
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