Shearer’s 30 Too Much for Radford; Fall to Kent State, 66-57

Radford, Va. . - Kent State’s Lindsay Shearer scored a career high 30 points, 22 in the first half, and the Golden Flashes, who led from start-to-finish, held off a second half rally as they downed Radford, 66-57, this evening from the Dedmon Center. The Highlanders, led by freshman Corrie Fertitta’s (Roanoke, Va.) career high 13 points and seven rebounds, could not overcome an early deficit as they fell to 1-6 on the season.

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Shearer finished the game going 9-for-16 from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point land and 10-11 from the line. She also tied teammate Malika Willouhby with a game best four steals. Melissa DeGrate chipped in with 11 points and a team best six boards.

For the Highlanders, sophomore Shavon Earp (Hampton, Va.) scored 12 points and grabbed six boards in her Radford debut. Senior Taryn Causey (Collierville, Tenn.) added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Golden Flashes controlled much of the play in the first half as they shot 47 percent from the field and held RU to just 33 percent to take a 39-25 lead into the break. Kent State (6-3) started the half, racing out to a 6-0 lead on a pair of layups by Shearer and a jumper by Willoughby 1:43 into the game.

After Radford cut the lead to 6-3 on a put back by sophomore Sarah Stephens (Hampton, Va.), KSU used a 13-4 run, capped off by five straight points from Shearer, to open up a 19-7 lead at the 12:47 mark. Kent State maintained its double-digit lead for all but one possession of the first half. It built its lead to as many as 19 (37-18) with 3:30 to go after a 9-0 surge sparked by eight points by Shearer. The Highs cut it to 14 with a 7-2 run to end the half.

The Highlanders made a push in the second half as they shot 45 percent from the field, but it wasn’t enough to dig out of any early hole. RU cut the lead to six (46-40) with a 13-4 run. Causey started it with a pair of short range jumpers and Fertitta capped off the run with a mid-range jumper and a three at the 13:14 mark. It would be the closest the Highlanders would get, as KSU pushed the lead to 51-40 on a layup by La’Kia Stewart and a three by Shearer at the 11:17 mark. Radford would cut KSU’s lead to seven on three occasions but it was unable to get any closer the rest of the game.

For the game, both teams shot 39 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from three-point land. The Highlanders outrebounded the Golden Flashes, 38-36 but committed 18 turnovers to KSU’s 17. Kent State also posted a decisive edge on the line going 18-for-26, while Radford went 9-for-13.

Radford returns to action on Dec. 28 when it heads to Memphis, Tenn. for a match up with the Memphis Tigers at 8 pm EST.