Women's Basketball 3/22/2026 10:30:00 AM

Radford Heads West, Takes on Arkansas State in WNIT Second Round

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford Highlanders women's basketball team looks to carry the momentum from Friday night's 77-58 win over Morehead State into the next round of the WNIT. They'll face a strong opponent in Arkansas State, who won 24 games and finished third in the Sun Belt Conference, in the second round.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Arkansas State Red Wolves (24-9, 14-4 SBC)
Date/Time: Monday, March 23rd at 8:00 p.m.
Location: First National Bank Arena, Jonesboro, Ark.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Listen to All Games Live on WRAD AM 1460
Watch on ESPN+
Follow Live Stats Here

KEY STORYLINES
Last Time Out: In the first-ever postseason game at the Dedmon Center, Radford welcomed the largest crowd of any WNIT First Round game in addition to Morehead State. The crowd helped propel the Highlanders to a 77-58 win, just the program's fourth in the WNIT and second in the Mike McGuire era. Trailing by one after the first quarter, Radford closed the second quarter on a 27-5 run to pull ahead and not look back. Junior Cate Carlson led all scorers with 20 points with eight rebounds, while freshman Georgia Simonsen added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Full Team Effort: Radford finished with five players in double figures for the first time since December 20, 2024, vs. UVA Wise, and the first time against a DI opponent since February 28, 2024, vs. Charleston Southern. Carlson finished with 20 points, Joi Williams had 15, Georgia Simonsen tallied 12, Ellie Taylor also had 12, and Angelina Nice had 10. The crowd also contributed, with the 1,134 being the highest attendance by any WNIT First Round host in Radford's first home WNIT contest.

Turnovers on Sale: A key stretch in the win over Morehead State was forced turnovers, with the Eagles, who average just over 16 a game, committed 22 in the game and 15 in the first half. Morehead State failed to score over the final four minutes of the first half and committed six turnovers in that span. For Highlanders finished with three steals in the contest.

First For Everything: Monday's game will be the first game in Arkansas and against an Arkansas-based opponent for Radford women's basketball in program history. This is the first trip for Radford WBB west of the Mississippi River since playing Abilene Christian (W 71-65) and Towson (W 69-66) in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Hotel & Casino in December of 2017.

Big 36: Monday's game is the 36^th of the season for Radford, a program record. The only other team to play 35 games in program history was the 2007-08 squad, who ironically finished 23-12 overall, Radford's current record. That team also made the WNIT after making a run to the championship game of the Big South Tournament.

Super Freshman: Georgia Simonsen recorded her third double-double of the season against Morehead State. She received all-tournament honors after scoring 20 points against both Charleston Southern and Longwood. Prior to the conference tournament, she was named Big South Freshman of the Year. The forward from Fairfax, Va. is the first Radford freshman since at least before 2000 to score 20+ points in four consecutive games from February 25-March 7. Simonsen is averaging 16.7 ppg over her past six games.

A Joi to Watch: Joi Williams set a Radford record with 76 total points scored in the Big South Tournament, adding 31 against Charleston Southern, 15 against Longwood, and 30 against High Point. It's the third-most points scored in Big South WBB Tournament history. Including a 36-point performance against Navy on December 4, Williams scored 30+ in three games. She is one of five players in Radford history to do so; only Stephanie Howard (87-88 and 88-89), Patrinda Toney (91-92), Shannan Wilkey (93-94), and Lori Mitchell (98-99) scored 30+ points in at least three games in a season. Williams ranks 20^th in all-time scoring at Radford after reaching 1,000 career points vs. Presbyterian on February 25. Williams was named to the Big South All-Tournament Team and First Team All-Big South.

Team Record Watch: This year's team has already taken and made the most three-pointers in a season (254-815). The team also ranks in the top 10 in assists (2^nd, 483), points scored (2^nd, 2,375), wins (T-5^th, 23), rebounds (5^th, 1,373), and field goal attempts (6^th, 865).

Red Alert: Radford faces a tough Arkansas State team that's making its second-straight postseason appearance after making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history last season. The Red Wolves are the second-highest rated team in NET Rankings remaining in the WNIT (92), with the highest being Montana State (69). Arkansas State's resume includes impressive wins against in-state rival Arkansas and James Madison, the eventual Sun Belt champions. Their quest for the NCAA Tournament ended with a third-straight loss to Troy this season, the most recent in the Sun Belt semifinals on March 8, 83-73. Turnovers will be key on Monday, as Arkansas State forces the most turnovers per game in the nation with 26.85. They also take the most threes per game on average (34.9) in NCAA Division I.

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.

#RadfordTough | #RiseAndDefend

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#33 Ellie Taylor: G; 5' 10"; Graduate Student

#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

#33 Ellie Taylor
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student
: G

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

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

Radford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned