Despite trailing by only six points at halftime, Radford was unable to overcome a hot shooting effort in the second half by Virginia Tech as the Highlanders dropped a 68-42 effort in the 36th edition of the New River Valley rivalry Sunday afternoon.
Posting her second straight double-double, Janayla White finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while crossing the 800-rebound plateau in the performance to give her 26 career double-doubles. Entering the game with three double-figure performances, Khiana Johnson collected her fourth with a 12-point game in 37 minutes of action.
In the first game not played on Dec. 21 in five seasons, Radford and Virginia Tech were locked at 17 after the first 10 minutes of play in what looked to be high-octane contest as Johnson scored the final eight points for the Highlanders.
Radford took its largest lead of the game (17-14) with just under 20 seconds remaining in the opening quarter as the Highlanders forced a turnover, leading to a Johnson transition layup. The Hokies knotted the game up at 17 as Regan Magarity beat the clock with a 3-pointer.
The Hokies regained the lead in the second quarter, but Radford inched its way back into the game. Radford tied the game at 24 after Lydia Rivers knocked down a mid-range jumper off Claudia Quevedo assist at the 4:09 mark. Virginia Tech would end the opening half on an 8-2 run to take a 32-26 edge into the locker room.
Coming out of the break a little sluggish, Radford only made three field goals in the third quarter as White was responsible for six of Radford’s eight points over a 12-minute span dating back to the second quarter. Virginia Tech seized its opportunity as the Highlanders went cold from the floor, building a 16-point lead (48-32) after three quarters.
Rivers sparked a 6-2 run to start the final quarter as Radford cut the deficit to 50-38, but Virginia Tech ended the contest on a 18-4 run to take the NRV battle 68-42.
With a season-high 14 rebounds, Janayla White now has 802 career rebounds, which now ranks fifth in program history and 23rd in Big South history. All 14 of White’s rebounds came on the defensive end.
Joining White with double-digit rebounds, Lydia Rivers pulled down 10 for her 12th double-digit rebound effort of her career. Radford finished with a season-high 10 blocks as White led the way with three and Rivers contributed two. White now has 163 career blocks and is in a three-way tie for 13th all-time in Big South history.
Khiana Johnson tallied her fourth double-figure performance with 12 first-half points. Dishing out three-plus assists for the third time on the season, Claudia Quevedo now has 13 on the season.
Regan Magarity finished with a game-high 28 points on 11 of 22 shooting for the Hokies to go along with 12 rebounds.
“I thought we did a pretty nice job sticking the game plan in the first half and kept the game at a tempo that we could manage. In the second half, we lost sight of our game plan and stopped hitting shots. They went to a zone defense and we just didn’t handle it well enough mentally to compete in the second half. That is something that we have to grow from and this will be a lesson that will help us down the road,” said Radford head coach Mike McGuire.
–RU Athletics
