Highlanders Fall to Virginia Tech, 78-56

Radford, Va. - Radford University dropped a 78-56 decision to Virginia Tech this afternoon at Cassell Coliseum. After a tightly contested first half, which saw the Highlanders trail by seven, the Hokies used a 23-4 run at the beginning of the second half and pull away for the win. Virginia Tech improves to 9-2, while Radford falls to 4-6.

Jesse Brunjak (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Amanda Neby (Plymouth, Minn.) led the Highlanders with 14 and 13 points respectively. Tech's Erin Gibson led all scorers with career high 24 points, on 12-of-15, shooting from the field, while Ieva Kublina chipped in with 17. Gibson and Kublina pulled down eight and nine boards respectively. Box Score

Radford jumped out early, grabbing a 15-9 lead 5:16 into the game. The Hokies used a 10-0 run, sparked by a pair of Kublina three's, to take a 19-15 lead at 12:01. After a jumper by Hanna Statsenka (Minsk, Belarus) cut the lead to 19-17, the Highlanders and the Hokies went into a scoreless drought over the next 4:22. Gibson ended the drought with a jumper at 7:21. Cody Silker (Fairmont, Minn.) responded with a three to make it a one-point game at 21-20. That would be as close as RU would get, as the Hokies closed out the half on a 10-4 spurt to take a 31-24 halftime lead.

Virginia Tech came out on fire in the second half. After Neby cut the lead to five on the Highlanders first possession, the Hokies went on their decisive 23-4 run, making 9-13 shots from the field, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc. They finished the half making 57.6 percent from the field.

Down 54-31, the Highlanders did not let up as they made one final push. A 12-1 run, keyed by eight points from Neby, cut RU's deficit to 55-43 with 8:21 remaining. But a 15-6 spurt over the next five minutes gave the Hokies a 21-point cushion with 3:13 left in the game.

For the game, the Highlanders shot 37.9 percent from the field and an impressive 53.8% (7-13) from three-point land, while the Hokies scorched the nets on 55.0% shooting and 47.4% (9-19) from behind the arc. Tech also held the edge on the boards, 37-30.

Sherri Rickman (Roanoke, Va.) chipped in with nine points and grabbed a team best six boards and two steals for the Highlanders. Carrie Mason and Fran Recchia posted 13 and 11 points respectively for the Hokies, while Emily Lipton dished out a career and game best nine assists.

Radford begins the New Year with their conference opener on Jan. 2 when they host Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. from the Dedmon Center.