Women's Basketball 2/3/2026 10:30:00 AM

Women’s Basketball Takes on Longwood in Marquee Big South Contest

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball team will attempt to sweep the regular season series against Longwood for the first time since the 2019-20 season, needing a victory in Farmville. The battle between two of the top three teams in the Big South tips off at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Longwood Lancers (15-6, 6-2 BSC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 4th at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Joan Perry Brock Center, Farmville, Va.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
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KEY STORYLINES
Last Time Out: The Highlanders came away with a close 61-57 victory over Winthrop on Saturday in the Dedmon Center. The defense held Winthrop to make just one three-pointer in the contest while also grabbing 41 rebounds. Cate Carlson set a new career-high with six trifectas in the win. Georgia Simonsen also added 18 points to match a season-high for the freshman.

In the Details: Saturday's win moved the Highlanders to 7-2 in Big South play…10-3 in the Dedmon Center…9-5 coming off a win…5-5 in games decided by 10 points or less …13-2 when leading at half…6-9 when shooting less than 40 percent…9-4 when making more three-pointers than their opponent…13-2 when scoring 60+ points…10-1 when holding their opponents under 60 points.

A Look Back: Radford controls the series 34-21 against Longwood, which dates to the 1971-72 season but was played annually only since Longwood joined the Big South in 2012. The Highlanders dominated to take a 78-63 win over Longwood at the Dedmon Center on January 21. Radford shot better than 50 percent from the field in that contest (30-for-59), with junior Joi Williams scoring 23 points while Simonsen and Angelina Nice joined the guard in double figures with 18 and 15, respectively. Radford has yet to beat Longwood at the new Joan Perry Brock Center, which opened in 2023. Their last win in Farmville came on January 14, 2020, in a 62-61 triumph.

Piling Up the Honors: Simonsen scored her fifth Big South Freshman of the Week award on Monday after another quality pair of games. She scored 13 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds in a dominating 67-29 win at USC Upstate. On Saturday, she tallied 18 points to tie a career-high while grabbing seven rebounds, including three offensive boards. Simonsen leads the Big South in conference play with a 52.9% field goal percentage and 13 blocks. She also has the fourth-best free throw percentage in conference games (69.7%) and is one of eight players averaging over 12.5 points a game.

Can't Miss Cate: Cate Carlson set a new career high with six makes beyond the arc in the huge win on Saturday. Since winning at Winthrop on January 17, the junior is 18-for-35 (.512) from three and is averaging 13 points a game.

Jumping for Joi: Joi Williams was held to just 12 points but still did enough to help the Highlanders grab a win against Winthrop. She became the first Radford player to score 20+ points in consecutive games since Destinee Walker during the 2018-19 season in the wins over Longwood and UNC Asheville in January. Williams is also the lone Highlander to average over 10+ points a game (13.3). The junior is currently fifth on the Radford all-time 3-pt field goals made list with 157 made. She trails fourth place Ashley Buckhannon (2009-13) by one three-pointer. Williams also has 903 career points, 97 short of reaching 1,000 career points.

Defensive Mindset: The Radford defense has come up strong in Big South play. Counting only conference games, the Highlanders rank second in defense (53.0 ppg allowed) and opponent field goal percentage (.342), and blocks (3.67 per game).

Scouting Longwood: Since falling to Radford two weeks ago, the Lancers have bounced back with wins over USC Upstate (74-50 in Farmville) and Gardner-Webb (76-70 in Boiling Springs). In the last meeting, Radford defenders held Longwood's starting five to just 22 points and a 20% shooting percentage (8-for-40). They'll need to keep freshman Jesstynie Scott under control to get another victory – the guard from Georgia scored a career-best 20 points in the win over USC Upstate. They'll also need to continue to shoot at a high percentage, as the Lancers still have the best offense in Big South play and are averaging 75.8 points a game.

FOLLOW RADFORD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford women's basketball team throughout the season, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @Radford_WBB on X, 'radford_wbb' Instagram or Radford Women's Basketball on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Cate Carlson: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#32 Angelina Nice: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#4 Joi Williams: G; 5' 6"; Junior

#23 Georgia Simonsen: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#8 Cate Carlson
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#32 Angelina Nice
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G

#4 Joi Williams
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

#23 Georgia Simonsen
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F