CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Radford women’s basketball program was dominant in a 73-57 road victory over Queens Thursday night as seven different Highlanders scored seven or more points in the contest.
Radford was strong from the opening tip up until the final horn on Thursday. Radford made sure to get things started right scoring their first bucket in the first minute thanks to a great feed from Rachel LaLonde to Olivia Wagner for an easy layup. Vanessa Blake got on the board with two quick buckets to push that lead to 9-2 and Radford never looked back.
After Carmen Williams converted the old-school three-point play with an and-one at the three-minute mark, Radford led 12-6. Tatiana Beaumont had the Highlanders’ first three-pointer of the day and Jackie Christ immediately followed with a layup to push the lead further to 17-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Radford offense didn’t miss a step moving into the second quarter. Blake converted a fast break bucket for Radford to open the quarter. Ashley Panem hit her first bucket, a three-pointer, to make it a 22-11 Radford lead. The Royals kept trying to find answers, but Radford responded to each opposing make with a make of their own.
At the three-minute mark, Maci Rhoades hit a three-pointer to become the seventh player to make their mark on the scoresheet. A quick five points thanks to Christ and Rachel LaLonde in the final 30 seconds would make it a 32-19 Radford lead at the halftime break, the team’s largest halftime lead against a Division I team this season.
Ashlyn Traylor became the eighth Highlander on the night to score with her fastbreak layup to open the second half. Traylor responded from the scoreless first half and lit up for 11 points over the final 20 minutes.
Williams then nailed a three-pointer and a layup for a quick five points that gave Radford a 42-24 lead with six minutes left in the third. Panem hit another three-pointer just a few seconds later as Radford fully started to pull away. After an and-one by Traylor, it was suddenly a 54-30 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Just like they had all night, Radford continued to run its offense through multiple players over the final 10 minutes. Traylor, Panem and Christ all netted four points each in the final quarter while Rhoades and LaLonde also added baskets to solidify the final outcome with a 73-57 final score.
PANEM CAN’T MISS
With another double-digit point performance tonight by Ashley Panem, the Broomfield Co. native continues to show signs of finding her stride. Dating back to the Highlanders’ last game 11 days ago, Panem has hit six straight three-pointers without a miss. Tonight Panem hit two three-pointers, a pair of baskets inside the arc and was perfect two-for-two from the free throw line for her 12 points.
BLAKE STARTS, KEEPS THE PACE
Tonight marked the first start for Vanessa Blake in the 2022-23 season and only her second-ever career start. Blake, who’s been a key asset off the Radford bench this year, did not waste the opportunity and was vital in the Highlanders’ early offensive attack. Nine of Blake’s 12 points on the night came in the first half. The sophomore also pulled down six rebounds, four of which were on the offensive glass.
MOST DOMINANT ROAD WIN SINCE…
Tonight’s victory over Queens in Charlotte, N.C. was the Highlanders most dominant road victory since February 5th, 2021, when Radford defeated Winthrop 72-46. It was the largest nonconference road victory since dispatching ETSU 67-43 all the way back on November 21st, 2019.
UP NEXT
Next up on the Highlanders’ three-game road trip to close out nonconference play is a date at Furman this upcoming Sunday. The Highlanders and Paladins will face each other for the second straight season with tip set for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
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