Joi Williams scores 30, High Point beats Radford 71-67 for Big South Title
By: Brandon Whitaker
The No.1 seed High Point Panthers secured a spot in the March Madness tournament following a 71-67 win over No. 2 Radford, in the Big South conference championship game.
The Highlanders started slow, falling behind 8-0 in the first three minutes. Junior guard Joi Williams ripped off 10 points, fueling a 14-2 run to give Radford the lead.
High Point regained momentum early in the second quarter, building a five-point advantage.
Senior guard Ellie Taylor scored five of her 10 points in the period to keep Radford close and later assisted Cate Carlson on a 3-pointer that gave the Highlanders a three-point lead. 40 seconds later fellow senior Kirah Dandridge drained a three-pointer to give Radford a 32-26 lead, it’s largest lead of the night.
Radford let up one more three but retained the lead, 32-29 heading into the halftime break.
The momentum shifted in the third quarter. High Point controlled the pace and opened the second half with two quick field goals in the first minute. The Panthers held Radford to 6 of 20 shooting in the quarter as the Highlanders struggled to finish at the rim and couldn’t connect from beyond the arc. High Point capitalized, scoring 27 points in the period to take an 11-point lead.
Williams attempted to bring Radford back in the fourth quarter, scoring eight points in the first two minutes to cut the deficit to three. With just under five minutes remaining, she made a layup to tie the game at 63.
Williams scored eight points in the first two minutes of the fourth to bring Radford back within three. Later, with a little under five minutes left she made a layup to tie the game at 63.
The biggest moment in the game came when Big South Player of the Year Macy Spencer was fouled and had a chance to put High Point up four. The 81% free throw shooter missed one leaving Radford with a chance to tie with a three.
Cate Carlson shot a three from the right wing that fell short. Anaiah Jenkins got the offensive rebound and passed to Williams. She put up a three with four seconds left but it wouldn’t fall and the Panthers ended the game with more free throws.
This was Williams’ second 30-point game in the conference tournament. Across Radford’s three tournament games she averaged 25.3 points per game, upping her regular season average by ten. She now has the most 30-point tournament games in school history.
After the game, head coach Mike McGuire praised Williams’ performance.
“I think what you saw tonight from Joi is what she’s been working on for years. The kid’s always been a winner, just watching her in high school she’s a state champion multiple times. She’s helping get this program back to what we should be about, along with Ellie. This is a winning program and to watch her play fearlessly, constantly looking to make plays for us, I just love how she plays the game. She plays to win. She plays to be a good teammate.”
Seniors Ellie Taylor and Kirah Dandridge combined for 18 points,12 rebounds and six assists. They filled up the stat sheet and gave everything they had until the very last minute.
“What these two have put into this program, is as good as it gets. You have seniors that are selfless, hardworking, willing to work through the hard times. Ellie’s played two years for us, couldn’t play last year (but) both years we’ve been in the championship game. That is not by accident. She’s a fearless competitor, so is KD (Kirah Dandridge) I’m really proud of KD and how she’s grown too. Fearless competitors, value defense, value teamwork, they helped our young players understand what leading by example can be and what it should look like, and I am forever grateful for both of them.”
