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Radford Athletics Communications
57
High Point HP 21-3,10-1 Big South
72
Winner Radford Rad 16-10,8-3 Big South
High Point HP
21-3,10-1 Big South
57
Final
72
Radford Rad
16-10,8-3 Big South
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
High Point HP 10 11 20 16 57
Radford Rad 22 20 15 15 72

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Celebrates Senior Day With Upset Win Over High Point

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball team (16-10, 8-3 BSC) did not let Kirah Dandridge and Ellie Taylor down on Senior Day, pulling off an upset over Big South leaders High Point, 72-57, on Saturday afternoon at the Dedmon Center. The Panthers had won 11 straight and were perfect in conference play entering the day.

KEY STATS
  • Freshman Georgia Simonsen led the charge, scoring a new career-high with 19 points. The Big South leader in blocks added three while also pacing the Highlanders with seven rebounds.
  • On the defensive end, Taylor held High Point guard Macy Spencer to just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting. Spencer had scored in double figures in 13 straight games.
  • Radford finished with a 52.6 shooting percentage from three-point range, making 10 of 19. Both Anaiah Jenkins and Simonsen, two forwards, were a perfect five-for-five from deep.
  • The Highlanders won the battle in the paint 32-24.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
The Highlanders set the tone in the first quarter. High Point scored the first two baskets out of the gates. That's the only lead they would have the rest of the game, with Radford answering with an 11-0 run over the middle of the quarter. The defense held the Panthers scoreless over the middle four minutes, while three different Radford players added tallies. The shots kept falling later in the quarter, as Simonsen added the team's third trifecta of the opening chapter to make it a 22-10 game after one.

The second was much like the first. A run through the middle of the quarter, this time a 9-0 spurt, gave Radford a 36-13 lead. Everything was falling at that point, as Anaiah Jenkins was perfect from the floor with 10 points, including a couple threes. High Point cut the deficit under 20 briefly before Joi Williams hit from mid-range and Jenkins followed with her career-best third three-pointer to pull out a 42-19 advantage. High Point scored to end the half, but the Highlanders had a healthy 42-21 cushion at the break.

The Panthers went to work in an effort to make a comeback, getting within 20 points on several occasions. The physicality also stepped up with Radford finding themselves in foul trouble. Still, Simonsen, Williams and Cate Carlson found ways to score and keep the Highlander lead at 16 after three.

Williams and Dandridge sunk a pair of threes, fully establishing the Highlanders from falling off in the fourth. High Point's 7-0 run got the purple and white within 13 points, when a nice drive and finish by Dandridge answered their run. Simonsen continued to come up clutch, sinking her second three-pointer to make it 68-50 with 5:05 remaining. Continued defensive stops spelt doom for the Panthers, as Radford took the air out of the ball and held long possessions to come away with the upset.

McGUIRE QUOTABLE
"Today's a great win for our program," opened Head Coach Mike McGuire in the postgame press conference. "(High Point) was an excellent opponent that was shorthanded. But for us to get this win on Senior Day. I thought it was great. Obviously, our first half was terrific. Probably the best first half we've had offensively all year long. Credit to our ladies. They were ready to play today. I think that showed. And we got an incredible, important win."

UP NEXT
The Highlanders will look to build off this signature win on Wednesday night in Asheville. Tipoff against the Bulldogs is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on WRAD Radford Sports Radio.

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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