Guard Charnissa Chillers drives to the hoop for two of her eight points in Radford University’s big win over Winthrop on Saturday.
Winners of six straight and 10 out of its last 11, Radford University’s women’s basketball team continued to make a statement in the second half of Big South play with a dominating 70-30 win at Winthrop on Saturday afternoon.
The 40-point victory was the first by the Highlanders since a 74-34 win at Longwood on Feb. 14, 2017. Radford now has four wins on the season decided by 25-points or more. The Highlanders surpassed its season high margin of victory by two points that came in the record-breaking 38-point win over Presbyterian on Jan. 20.
Coach Mike McGuire was impressed with his team’s approach and thought they came out of the locker room ready to play.
“Our first half was strong and we had contributions from everyone in the first half. There are a few things that we can work on and clean up, but we played well. This team understands the importance of winning on the road in Big South play and they did an outstanding job earning this one,” he said.
Radford shot 45.8 percent from the field, making 27 of 59 attempts as the Highlanders have shot over 40-percent in eight out of the last 11 games. Of Radford’s 70 points, 40 came within the paint, the most by the Highlanders on the season. The Highlander defense forced 18 Winthrop miscues, turning them into 20 points.
The Highlanders scored the first 13 points of the game, opening the game on a 21-2 run. The Highlanders commanded a 19-point lead at the 3:26 mark as Claudia Quevedo knocked down her second 3-pointer of the opening quarter. Quevedo finished with 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting, scoring double-figures in four out of the last five games. Of Quevedo’s 15 points, eight came in the first quarter.
Leading 23-9 after the first 10 minutes, Radford was 9 for 16 from the field as Jayda Worthy paced the squad with nine points on 4 of 6 shooting, scoring six points in the first three minutes of the game. Worthy finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double, giving the senior 15 in her career. Of Worthy’s 12 rebounds, eight came in the first half.
Winthrop outscored Radford 7-2 in the final 2:30 of the first quarter, but that proved not to matter as the Highlanders shot 60 percent in the second quarter, making 9 of 15 attempts.
Radford’s defense held Winthrop scoreless for the final 7:03 of the second quarter as the Highlanders closed out the first half on a 16-0 run, building a 45-13 lead at intermission. The Eagles finished the opening half 4 for 30, while Radford made 18 of 31 attempts.
Coming out of the break, both teams got off to a slow start, combining for only four points at the 4:16 mark in the third quarter. Winthrop tallied a quarter best 11 points on 5 of 16 shooting. The Eagles snapped the scoreless streak with a layup at the 7:51 mark in the third quarter, ending an almost 11-minute span.
Radford closed out the game with a 13-point fourth quarter, holding Winthrop without a field goal until 29.6 remaining in regulation. The Eagles added four points on free throws, making only field goal in 13 attempts.
The Highlanders received strong bench play as they were able to play six off the bench, combining for 21 points as Charnissa Chillers finished with a career-high eight points on 3 of 4 shooting to provide a spark. Freshman Tina Lindenfeld chipped in a season-high five points.
Radford is 27-4 in the last 57 games when holding opposing teams under 60 points, including a 15-1 mark on the season. Radford has held 10 teams under 50 points on the season, improving to 9-1. Of those 10 games, five have come in Big South play.
The Highlander defense held Winthrop to a 16.9 field goal percentage, the lowest by an opposing team this season. Radford has held opponents under 40-percent shooting in 10 out of the last 11 games.
Joining Jayda Worthy and Claudia Quevedo in double-figures, Janayla White finished with 11 points.
White blocked a season-high five shots, giving her 193 career blocks. She is seven blocks away from becoming the second player in program history with 200 blocks and the 10th in Big South history. Grabbing five rebounds, she is 73 away from 1,000 in her career.
Worthy needs 14 more points to crack the program’s Top 10 in scoring. Finishing with 12 rebounds, she is five away from moving inside the Top 10 in program rebounding. Making six field goals, Worthy has made 470 in her career, she ranks eighth in program history.
Lydia Rivers pulled down 11 boards, giving her 488 in her career. Quevedo finished with seven rebounds, setting a new career best. She also finished 3 for 5 from beyond the arc, marking her eighth game on the season with at least three 3-pointers.
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-RU Athletics
