Defense and Neby Lead Radford To Victory Over Winthrop

Rock Hill, S.C. - Amanda Neby (Plymouth, Minn.) dropped in a career high 27 points (11-of-15 from the field) and grabbed nine boards, while Radford's defense held Winthrop (4-8, 1-2 BSC) to 27.7 percent from the field, giving the Highlanders their first Big South Conference win of the year, 61-50 at Winthrop Coliseum. The win snapped the Highlanders six-game slide, improving their record to 5-9 overall and 1-3 in the Conference.

Hanna Statsenka (Minsk, Belarus) led RU's defensive effort with eight blocks, one shy of the school record. She also added nine points, six rebounds and three assists. Jesse Brunjak (Ooltewah, Tenn.) chipped in with 14 points, going 8-for-10 from the line, pulled down eight rebounds. Kia Bell led the Eagles with 14 points, while Stephanie Pannell and Tawander Whittington added 10 apiece.

The Highlanders jumped out to a 13-1 lead 4:11 into the game sparked by eight of Neby's 14 first half points. After the Eagles cut the lead to 13-7, Radford used a 15-2 run to take a 28-9 lead. Winthrop was able to get back into the game as they outscored the Highlanders, 15-2 over the final 6:59 to get with six, 30-24, at the break.

After Radford slowly regained a double-digit lead at 39-28, the Eagles put together a 9-3 spurt to cut the deficit to five at 42-37 with 7:37 left. That would be the closest Winthrop would get, as the Highlanders put the game out of reach with a 12-3 run, giving them a 54-40 lead with 4:07 left. The first 10 points, seven from Brunjak, of that run came from the free throw line

The Highlanders shot over 40 percent (.408) for the first time in four games and outrebounded their opponents for the second consecutive game (44-39). Sherri Rickman (Roanoke, Va.) chipped in with six points, while Cody Silker (Fairmont, Minn.) dished out a game best five assists.

Radford returns to the road next Saturday, Jan. 18 when they travel to Elon, N.C. and face Elon University at 7 p.m.

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