Radford University placed four in double-figures and two finished with double-doubles as the Highlanders collected its eighth win in the last nine games with a 74-57 Saturday afternoon decision over Charleston Southern.
Coach Mike McGuire thinks his Lady Highlanders are playing at a good pace right now and are more comfortable making decisions at that pace.
“We didn’t have that early in the season and I’m not sure they trusted it then. I like this growth because I think we are going to need transition baskets as the season progresses. We are starting to contest shots better and we rebounded really well in the opening half. This team just needs to learn how to do that for 40 minutes,” he said.
The Highlanders finished with four players in double-figures for the seventh time on the season and fourth in league play. Claudia Quevedo poured in 10 of her 15 second half points in the fourth quarter to finish with a career-high 20 points. Quevedo was 6 for 9 from the field, knocking down four 3-pointers.
Jayda Worthy followed with 18 points and eight rebounds as the Highlanders just missed having three double-doubles. Worthy made 6 of 10 from the field, including a 6 for 9 effort from the charity stripe.
The last time Radford had two players finish with double-doubles came against Charleston Southern in the first matchup on Jan. 13. Janayla White finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, making 11 of 13 from the free throw line. Lydia Rivers, who had a double-double in the first meeting, finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Radford had a comfortable 35-18 lead at halftime, using two 9-0 runs to combine for a 27-8 swing in the first half. Worthy poured in 13 of 18 points in the opening 20 minutes on a 5 for 8 showing from the field. White flirted with a first half double-double of nine points and nine rebounds.
The Highlanders only made 4 of 15 field goal attempts in the second quarter but went 9 for 11 from the free throw line to outscore Charleston Southern 17-7 in the quarter. The Bucs were 3 for 16 in the quarter, while only making eight attempts in the half.
Charleston Southern made six field goals in the third quarter, turning seven offensive rebounds into eight points. Despite the second-chance efforts, Radford added 20 points, pushing its lead to 25 points.
Despite trailing 55-30, Charleston Southern finished the third quarter on a run that extended to 20-7 as the Buccaneers pulled within 59-48 with 5:01 remaining in regulation. Quevedo quieted the run with a big 3-pointer as she knocked down two in the final frame as both pushed the Radford lead back to 14 points.
The Highlanders held off the late Buccaneer rally, outscoring them 10-4 in the final three minutes with five from Rivers for a 74-57 victory.
Radford is 25-4 in the last 55 games when holding opposing teams under 60 points, including a 13-1 mark on the season. The Highlander defense held Charleston Southern to a 31.3 field goal percentage as Radford has held opponents under 40-percent shooting in eight out of the last nine games.
Radford just shot over 40 percent, finishing with a 41.8 field goal percentage. The Highlanders improve to 12-1 when shooting over 40 percent on the season. Pulling down 44 rebounds, Radford has grabbed 105 boards in two games against Charleston Southern.
Of Radford’s 23 made field goals, 12 were assisted on as Jen Falconer dished out five for the fourth straight game.
Of Falconer’s 66 assists, 43 have come in conference action.
Claudia Quevedo has scored 48 points in the last three Big South games, finishing with her first 20-point game of her career. The 20-point game is the fourth on the season for the Highlanders by three different players. Quevedo has made at least three 3-pointers in seven games.
Grabbing eight rebounds, Jayda Worthy became the fifth player in program history with 1,100 points and 700 rebounds.
Janayla White entered the game needing 25 points to become the 23rd player in program history with 1,000 points, White finished with 17 and is only eight away from the mark. Pulling down 13 boards, White became only the 13th player in Big South history to grab 900 rebounds. White is 95 rebounds away from becoming the third player in program history with 1,000 and 1,000. She is 11 rebounds away from moving into the Top three in program history.
Collecting three blocks, White is 13 blocks from becoming the second player in program history with 200 and the 10th in conference history. White’s double-double was the 30th of her career.
–RU Athletics