Highlanders Fall to East Tennessee State in Home Opener, 72-60

Radford, Va. - Radford University (1-2) fell to East Tennessee State (1-2) , 72-60, in their home opener this evening from the Dedmon Center. The Buccaneers used a 13-3 spurt early in the second half to break open a two-point game and go on to their first victory of the season. Amanda Neby (Plymouth, Minn.) led the Highlanders with a game-best 20 points, nine rebounds and three steals. For ETSU, Lauren Trantham posted a double double with 16 points and game-high 11 boards.

The first half was back and fourth as neither team grabbed more than a six-point lead. Radford would see their largest lead of six at 9:19 of the first half, 22-16. The Buccaneers would get even with an 8-2 run to knot things up a 24. They would eventually grab the lead for good with another spurt, going up 37-31 with a 7-0 run late in the first half and take a four-point lead into the break.

The Highlanders would get within a field goal twice, early in the second half, but were unable to get the tying bucket. After the 13-3 run put the Buccaneers up by 12, RU could not get the deficit under double-digits the rest of the game as they got cold, shooting 32.3 percent from the field and 60 percent from the line in the second half.

Holly Sharkey (Westminster, Colo.) was the only other Highlander in double figures, scoring a career-high 10 points on 5-of-7 from the field. Sherri Rickman (Roanoke, Va.) and Jesse Brunjak (Ooltewah, Tenn.) each scored nine points and grabbed nine and six boards respectively for the Highlanders.

For ETSU, Misty Copas posted 10 points and six rebounds, while Kiya Verdell added 14 points, nine boards and a pair of blocks.

The Highlanders will return to the Dedmon Center floor on Monday when they host Southern Virginia University at 7 p.m.

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