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73
Winner Radford Rad 17-10,9-3 Big South
45
UNC Asheville AVL 9-16,4-8 Big South
Winner
Radford Rad
17-10,9-3 Big South
73
Final
45
UNC Asheville AVL
9-16,4-8 Big South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Radford Rad 22 14 13 24 73
UNC Asheville AVL 11 8 19 7 45

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Highlanders Blow Past Bulldogs, 73-45

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In what UNC Asheville fans perceived as a letdown spot for the Highlanders, the Radford women's basketball team (17-10, 9-3 BSC) came in and dominated the first and fourth quarters to take a 73-45 win over the Bulldogs at Kimmel Arena on Wednesday night.

KEY STATS
  • The start and finish of the game were key for the Highlanders, outscoring UNC Asheville 22-11 in the first quarter and 24-7 in the fourth quarter.
  • Joi Williams led Radford with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She also led the Highlanders with six assists and four steals.
  • Georgia Simonsen led the Highlanders with eight boards and scored 12 points.
  • Cate Carlson added 11 points and Ellie Taylor totaled 10, wrapping up the four players who finished in double figures.
  • Though tying the battle of the boards 32-32, the Highlanders outscored UNC Asheville 36-26 in the paint.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
As mentioned above, a hot start gave Radford a sturdy cushion that they held for the rest of the night. UNC Asheville scored the first two baskets before Williams' three-pointer at the 5:58 mark in the first gave Radford their first lead. Another trifecta by Carlson the following trip down the floor made it 8-6, and Anaiah Jenkins followed with a mid-range jumper to answer a Bulldogs basket to make it 10-8. Radford closed the quarter on a 10-0 run, with a couple of scores underneath by Anna Stromberg and Simonsen capping off the burst to make it 22-11 after one.

The start of the second was marred by many UNC Asheville fouls, which resulted in several trips to the line. Carlson scored a nice and one on a post move to make it a 7-0 run and 29-12 lead with 6:09 left before half. A later technical foul assessed to UNC Asheville's head coach resulted in a couple more freebies for Williams. Radford's lead was as much as 34-12 before UNC Asheville's Nia Green went on a 7-0 spurt by herself to keep the Highlanders in check and get the Bulldogs within 20 by halftime, trailing 36-19.

While things were never desperate for Radford, a cold third quarter combined with Green's strong performance made things at least interesting. The Bulldogs cut the deficit within single digits with 4:39 left to play in the third quarter. Kirah Dandridge then got open and sunk a clutch three-pointer to beat the shot clock and put a stop to the UNC Asheville run. Dandridge would add another bucket before the chapter was over, and Williams scored again with 30 ticks left in the third to make it 49-38 heading to the fourth.

UNC Asheville immediately got back within 10 to start the fourth. Dandridge got open and hit her second trifecta to answer on the first trip down the floor. After that, Williams got to the rim twice, once via steal and score, to make it a comfortable 16 point game with just under eight minutes left. The Highlanders defense dominated the rest of the way, allowing the Bulldogs to make just two baskets the rest of the quarter and finish on a 24-5 run.

McGUIRE QUOTABLE
"We knew we had to come in here ready to play," said Head Coach Mike McGuire in the ESPN+ postgame interview. "I've been coming here for 13 years. It's very difficult to play here. Their level of intensity and physicality can be something you have to adjust to. So, we knew we had to set the tone as best we could. In a lot of ways I think our first quarter was the difference. We got off to a pretty good start. The latter half of the first quarter was better. But we needed to do that in order to win tonight."

UP NEXT
The Highlanders have the weekend off before hosting USC Upstate back in the Dedmon Center. Their penultimate home game of the regular season tips off at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18. Catch the action in person, on ESPN+ or on the WRAD Radford Sports Radio Network.

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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