Highlanders Post Third Straight Conference Win, 72-55 over Coastal Carolina

Radford, Va. - -- Radford posted three players in double figures and held their opponent to under 60 points for the third straight game as they defeated Coastal Carolina, 72-55, in women's basketball action from the Dedmon Center. Senior Kylie Williamson (Ankeny, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar) led the way for RU with a game high 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point land.

The Highlanders, who outrebounded the Lady Chants 52-26, won their third straight and evened their record at 11-11 and improved to 4-5 in the Big South. Coastal Carolina fell to 9-12, 3-6 in the Conference.

Also in double figures for the Highlanders were junior Taryn Causey (Collierville, Tenn./North Alabama) and senior Amanda Neby (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) with 13 and 12 points respectively. Big South Freshman of the Week Sarah Stephens (Hampton, Va./Hampton) had a big game on the boards, corralling a career high 14 rebounds and chipping in with eight points.

Nikki Reddick topped the scoring charts for Coastal with 14 points. Whitney Shearer and Alisha Dill chipped in with 11 and nine points respectively for the Lady Chants.

Coastal opened up the game with a 5-0 lead but Radford would respond with the next eight points. With Radford up 14-12, the Highs went on an 11-0 run, sparked by three consecutive three’s by Causey, Robin Kantin (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) and Cody Silker (Fairmont, Minn./Martin County West), to grab a 25-12 lead with 10:12 to go in the first half.

CCU countered with a 17-5 run, aided by seven points from Courtney Brown, to get within four (33-29) with 1:01 to go, but the Highlanders would score the final five points of the half, capped off by a Williamson three with 13 seconds on the clock to push their lead to 38-29 at the half.

In the second half, Radford used a 12-4 run in the first 6:06 of the period to take a 50-33 lead. Coastal would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way. The Highlanders finished the game with 72 points, marking the first time since the 1998-99 season, Radford has eclipsed the 70-point barrier in three-straight games.

Radford did turn the ball over 19 times to only nine for the Coastal Carolina who leads the Conference in turnover margin. With their rebounding edge (+26), the Highlanders held the Lady Chants to just six second chance points for the game. Also hitting the boards for RU were Alisha Jones (Mesa, Az./Temple JC) and Kantin with seven apiece. They also chipped in with nine and eight points respectively.

The Highlanders hit the road for four of their final five Big South games. They start Saturday at 4:30 at UNC Asheville and continue on down to Birmingham-Southern for an 8 p.m. tip on Monday.

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