Record Breaking First Half Propels Radford Past Charleston Southern 86-67 in Conference Tournament

By: Brandon Whitaker

 

The Radford Highlanders played one of the best halves of basketball in school history leading to a dominant 86-67 win in round one of the Big South Conference basketball tournament.

The first quarter featured a duel between two All Conference First Team members. Radford’s Joi Williams sank two threes and added two foul shots to help the Highlanders out to a 10-point lead.

CSU’s Tyonna Bailey made two jumpers and added three free throws to match Williams in points. She also pulled down five of her eight total rebounds in the first quarter.

Big South Freshman of the Year Georgia Simonsen got the scoring started for Radford in the second quarter with a turnaround jumper to bump the lead up to 12. For the next five minutes the Highlanders played flawlessly on offense, shooting 100% from the field until the 4:04 mark.

 

Williams scored back-to-back three-pointers around the six-minute mark of the second quarter to ignite the crowd in Johnson City, Tennessee. She added ten more points to finish the half with 18. Bailey added eight points of her own, but Charleston Southern trailed by 29 at halftime.

Williams and Simonsen combined for 17 of Radford’s 30 second quarter points.

Radford’s first half total of 54 points tied the tournament record and set a new school record for team scoring output in a single half of play.

Despite outscoring Radford 20–15 in the third quarter, Charleston Southern couldn’t mount a comeback. Highlander guards Kirah Dandridge and Cherish Haywood helped stifle the Buccaneer offense, holding Bailey to 1-of-6 shooting in the second half.

Williams continued shooting the lights out and finished with 31 points, three points shy of a first-round record. She joins Radford Hall of Famer Patrinda Toney as the second player to ever score 30 in a tournament game for the Highlanders.

Simonsen added 20 points and eight rebounds in her tournament debut. She has now scored 20+ points in her last three games.

The Highlanders haven’t had two players score 20 in a tournament game since their quarterfinal game against Presbyterian in 2019.

 

Head Coach Mike McGuire on the play of Williams and Simonsen.

“They’ve developed into a strong one-two punch. It’s good to see Joi’s confidence as a point guard, leader, and scorer. She was in a great rhythm throughout the game. Georgia’s growth as a freshman, from where she started to now, has been incredible. We threw her into the fire early and she just continues to get better. She has a bright future and a chance to be very special.”

 

Next the Highlanders will face the number three seed Longwood University on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.