From the opening tip to the end of the game, Radford dominated all aspects to remain perfect in the Big South with a 61-42 win over Campbell in a battle of conference unbeatens, Tuesday night inside the Gore Arena.
The Highlanders placed three in double-figures for the fourth straight game. Jayda Worthy paced the Highlanders for the third consecutive game, pouring in a game-high 17 points on seven of nine shooting, corralling nine rebounds. Worthy has scored 51 points in the first three games to start Big South play. Khiana Johnson followed with 14 points off the bench and Janayla White scored all 11 of her points in the second half.
Living by the team motto of “All Gas, No Brake,” Radford came out of the gate with an 9-0 lead as Jayda Worthy tallied six of the points. Coming off a Sydney Nunley rebound, Jen Falconer found an open Worthy on the right wing for a midrange jumper at the 7:16 mark for her third basket in the opening minutes.
Radford’s defense held Campbell scoreless for the first 3:29 of the contest, before Makala Rouse put the Fighting Camels on the board with a jumper.
After Radford built an eight-point lead (15-7) off a Khiana Johnson steal, leading to a Destinee Walker fast break layup, Campbell went on a 6-2 run to close out the opening quarter. Two free throws apiece from Summer Price and Brianna Cribb closed the deficit at 17-13.
Four points would be the closest the Fighting Camels would get within the Highlanders as Claudia Quevedo and Johnson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the second quarter to spark a Radford run.
Following the 3-pointers, Radford went on an 8-3 run. The Highlanders pushed the lead to 13 points after Destinee Walker came up with an offensive rebound, finding Rachael Ross for an easy layup with 1:07 remaining in the first half. Radford went into the locker room with a 33-22 lead after a late Campbell basket.
Radford shot 48.3 percent in the opening half, making 14 of 29 attempts. Worthy led all players with 12 points on five of six shooting. Of Radford’s 14 made baskets, Walker assisted on five of the baskets.
Campbell opened the third quarter with five straight points as a 3-pointer from Caroline Bowns forced a Radford timeout. The Highlanders pushed the lead back to double-digits after two consecutive baskets from White, while Worthy followed with her first 3-pointer of the season to give Radford a 40-29 lead with 7:05 remaining.
Following two free throws from White at the 5:06 mark, both squads held one another scoreless for the final 5:05 until Johnson found Nunley to beat the shot clock with 1.2 seconds remaining. The Nunley basket gave Radford a 44-32 lead after 30 minutes of action.
Radford dominated the fourth quarter, closing out their 17-10 advantage with an 8-1 run as Johnson scored the final four points for a 61-42 victory.
Radford starts off Big South play 3-0 for the first time since 2011. Radford shot 50 percent from the field, making 25 of 48 attempts, while shooting over 50 percent in the first and fourth quarters.
The last time Radford shot over 50 percent from the field came on Dec. 12, 2015 against Concord. In the contest, Radford finished with a 54.1 clip. The Highlanders led for 39:46, remaining tied for the first 14 seconds of the game.
Jayda Worthy finished with double-digit points for the eighth time on the season, the 31st of her career.
In the last four games, Worthy has tallied 64 points on 25 of 34 shooting. Worthy has grabbed 35 rebounds and dished out six assists. Janayla White also finished with her 31st career game of double-figure scoring.
White finished with two blocks, giving her 130 in her career, needing only 10 to move into a two-way tie for second in program history. Following one point shy of her season-high, Khiana Johnson (14) finished with her sixth game in double-figures.
Destinee Walker dished out a career-high seven assists, the most by a Highlander this season. Walker also finished with eight points, six rebounds and four steals. Radford dominated the paint (28-20) and bench scoring (22-8).
Campbell entered the game with the nation’s best scoring defense, allowing only 45.8 points per game. Radford became only the third to score over 60-points on the season against the Camel defense.
The Radford defense held Campbell’s leading scorers Summer Price (12.2 ppg) and MaKala Rouse (10.1 ppg) to a combined six points. Price finished with four points and Rouse tallied the lone first quarter basket.
“I’m really proud with our approach and how we played tonight. We came to Campbell with a lot of purpose and desire to get better. Our start in the first quarter set the tone of the game. I saw a lot of really good things in the game that really encourages and excites me on what we can do. This is a really good win against a really good opponent. Campbell is going to be very competitive down the stretch. Jayda [Worthy] has raised her level in everything, from her preparation to becoming a leader. When you prepare and play the game the right way, the game has a great way of rewarding you. Jayda has been phenomenal in the last four games,” said Radford head coach Mike McGuire.
Radford returns to the Dedmon Center this afternoon, hosting in-state Longwood for a 2 p.m. matchup. The Highlanders are 23-13 in the all-time series.
Radford swept the season series during the 2016 Big South season. With a four-game winning streak in the series, Radford has won three in a row in the Dedmon Center.
— Courtesy of RU Athletics
