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Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Simonsen_3726
Jason Aigner
58
Longwood LWU 21-10,11-5 Big South
81
Winner Radford Rad 22-11,12-4 Big South
Longwood LWU
21-10,11-5 Big South
58
Final
81
Radford Rad
22-11,12-4 Big South
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Longwood LWU 14 10 11 23 58
Radford Rad 16 20 25 20 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Highlanders Rout Longwood, Face High Point in Big South Championship Game Sunday

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Radford Highlanders women's basketball team looked right at home and felt right at home with a good crowd traveling down from Radford to support them. That support helped propel Radford to a huge 81-58 win over Longwood in the semifinals of the Big South Tournament. The victory gives the Highlanders a date with top-seed High Point tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m.

KEY STATS
  • Radford has scored 80+ points in back-to-back games in the Big South Tournament. It's the first time the Highlanders have scored more than 80 in multiple conference tournament games since the 1996 tournament.
  • Georgia Simonsen has scored 20 points in four-straight games and in back-to-back conference tournament games. She's the first Radford freshman since at least 2007-08 to do so.
  • Radford dominated the points in the paint 48-32. They also outscored Longwood in second-chance points 14-6.
  • This is the largest Big South Tournament win in the Mike McGuire era in terms of margin of victory (23 points). The previous high of 19 points was set last night in the win vs. Charleston Southern.
PLAY BY PLAY
It was a physical game throughout, and Longwood seemed to establish their defense and force tough shots for Radford early on. Cate Carlson got a huge night started from the free throw line for the game's first points before Longwood's guards went on a mini 6-0 run to lead about halfway through the quarter. Following the media timeout, Simonsen scored a second basket to give Radford a 12-11 lead with 3:20 left in the first. That helped jump the Highlander offense, as Cherish Haywood hit a put back and Simonsen made a nice play on a fast break to score to make it 16-12 with 49 seconds left. A Longwood basket made it a two-point game after one.

The Radford defense put a stop to Longwood on the offensive end in the second quarter, holding the Lancers to just 10 points. The Highlanders went on a 7-0 run, scoring three-straight times off turnovers. Joi Williams hit a huge three to make it 25-16, the first trifecta of the game for Radford. After going off with an apparent shoulder injury in the first quarter, Anaiah Jenkins returned to hit a put back to make it 30-20. Carlson ended the first half with a nice drive and score to make it 36-24 at halftime. Longwood made just two baskets in the quarter, with the Highlanders holding them to 13.3 percent from the floor.

The Highlanders poured it on in the third quarter, outscoring Longwood 25-11 in the 10-minute segment. Radford missed just four shots (11-15) in the third. Kirah Dandridge found the basket, and Ellie Taylor finished for two to extend the lead to 16 points. Carlson hit Radford's single-season record-breaking three-pointer, their 233rd of the season, after a friendly bounce with 5:02 left. Carlson then followed with a driving layup that put Radford ahead by 21 points. Radford continued to pile it on, with makes by Angelina Nice from deep and Dandridge hitting from behind the arc a bit later in the third. Williams capped the huge stanza with a coast-to-coast layup, making it 61-35 after three.

Radford needed to close out the contest in the fourth, and they succeeded quite well. After Longwood cut the deficit to 20 points with eight minutes left, Simonsen returned offensively, making two clutch shots underneath to stretch the lead back to 24. The Lancers never got within 20 points, as the Radford defense continued to force contested shots and turnovers. Ahead by 21 points with just over 90 seconds left, Dandridge and Carlson sunk four free throws to break the 80-point barrier and punch their ticket to the championship game.

McGUIRE QUOTABLE
"First, I just want to say, I have a lot of respect for Longwood," Head Coach Mike McGuire said in the postgame press conference. "And how they compete. They had an outstanding conference season. The games with them were intense as we saw tonight. Very competitive. So, really respect what they do and how they make our league a lot better and made us better. Very proud of our team. I thought our team came to play tonight. We wanted this game badly. And I think that showed with the effort they put forth. It's a great win, we're excited to be back in the championship game."

UP NEXT
Radford eyes a chance for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019 tomorrow night in Johnson City. They'll face the regular season Big South champion and No. 1 seed High Point at 6:00 p.m. from the Freedom Hall Civic Center. Fans can purchase tickets HERE, watch nationally on ESPN 2, or listen to Tom Purvis 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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