Third quarter propels Highlanders to victory

A strong third quarter fueled Radford University’s 64-40 victory over Presbyterian Saturday afternoon as the Highlanders picked up their seventh win of the season by 20-plus points.

Defeating the last two opponents by 40 or more points, the Lady Highlanders settled for a 24-point victory, improving its winning streak to eight straight. With two regular season games left on the docket, Radford has won 12 out of its last 13 games.

Coach Mike McGuire thought the contest was a well-rounded and great effort by his team.

“Anytime you face a team that can spread the floor and shoot three-pointers like Presbyterian, it presents a lot of challenges defensively. I thought our team executed the game plan exceptionally well other than the turnovers. We were more sound with the ball and made better decisions in the third quarter which allowed us to pull away. This is a tough place to win and our ladies handled it really well,” he said.

Shooting a record-breaking 72.2 percent from the field in the first meeting against the Blue Hose, Radford concluded the season series with a 51.9 shooting clip. The Highlanders made 27 of 52 from the field, picking up their fourth game with a 50-percent field goal percentage or better.

Entering the game needing 20 points to move into eighth all-time in scoring, Jayda Worthy did just that as the senior finished 8 for 12 from the field for her third 20-point game on the season. Worthy is tied with Corrie Fertitta in eighth with 1,215 career points.

The Highlanders jumped out to an early 12-7 lead in the opening quarter as the Radford defense held the Blue Hose scoreless for a seven-minute span. Presbyterian ended on a 7-2 swing to close out the quarter with only a 14-12 deficit.

Radford built its 11-point first half edge on a strong defensive second quarter. The fourth best scoring defense in the country, limited the Blue Hose to only five points on 2 of 13 shooting. Presbyterian was held scoreless for the first 6:20 of the quarter.

Turning defense into offense, Janayla White led Radford with seven points as the Highlanders scored the first 10 points of the quarter to build a 24-12 lead. White finished the first half with nine points on 4 for 4 shooting, going 16 for 16 over the last six quarters played.

White’s defense sparked the Highlanders as the senior recorded five stuffs in the first half, matching a season best. Finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and six blocks; White became the second Highlander with 200 career blocks.

After the Blue Hose cut the deficit to seven points, Worthy scored the final four points of the half as the senior finished with a first half 12 points to send the Highlanders into the locker room leading 28-17.

Radford forced seven turnovers in the quarter, turning 10 first half miscues into 12 points. In the game, Presbyterian committed 19 turnovers as the Highlanders took advantage for 21 points.

Leading by only 12 points at the 4:12 media timeout in the third quarter, Radford flipped the switch as the Highlanders finished the quarter on a 14-1 run, making 6 of 8 attempts. Worthy provided six points during the stretch, finishing with eight in the quarter.

In the quarter, Radford made 4 of 7 from downtown as Khiana Johnson knocked down a pair, finishing with eight of her 10 points in the second half.

Radford’s defense shined during the stretch, holding Presbyterian scoreless for the final 4:07 of the third quarter, building a 52-27 advantage.

Despite the Blue Hose outscoring the Highlanders 13-12 in the final quarter on three 3-pointers, Radford avenged its 2017 loss inside the Templeton Center with a 64-40 victory.

The win gives Radford 20 wins for the second straight season, marking the first time the Highlanders have won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons since 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Radford is 29-4 in the last 59 games when holding opposing teams under 60 points, including a 17-1 mark on the season, and held 12 teams under 50 points on the season, improving to 11-1. Of those 12 games, seven have come in Big South play.

Radford’s defense held Presbyterian to a 23.1 field goal percentage, marking the sixth time an opposing team has been held under 30-percent shooting. Outrebounding Presbyterian 43-27, Radford turned seven offensive boards into 13 points.

Radford added 40 points in the paint, scoring 130 of its last 215 points inside. During its winning stretch, Radford has shot over 40 percent in 10 of the 13 games.

Jayda Worthy’s 20-point game is the sixth of her career and the seventh by a Highlander this season. Making eight field goals, Worthy is four from moving inside the Top 5 in career made field goals.

Janayla White just missed her second straight double-double as the nine rebounds give her 947 career, needing only 53 for 1,000. White is 62 rebounds away from 1,000 in her career. The six blocks also make White the 10th player in Big South history with 200 career blocks.

In the last five games, White has tallied 89 points on 30 of 41 shooting. She has only missed two shots in her last 21 attempts.

With nine rebounds, Lydia Rivers became the 21st player in program history with 500 career rebounds. Claudia Quevedo pulled down a career-high eight boards to round out Radford’s top rebounders. Quevedo also dished out six assists, her fifth game on the season with five-plus assists.

–RU Athletics