Causey Ties Career High as Radford Downs Navy, 59-51

Radford, Va. . - Senior Taryn Causey (Collierville, Tenn.) tied a career high with 23 points and Radford held off a second half rally to defeat Navy, 59-51, from the Dedmon Center this evening. The Highlanders successfully started a six-game home stand as they improved to 4-7 on the season. The Midshipmen, led by Abi Cambell’s 11 points, dropped their third straight and fell to 4-8.

The Highlanders broke open a 31-30 game at the half with a 12-0 run spearheaded by seven points from Causey to take a 43-30 lead at the 14:25 mark. On the next possession, Carly Meyer finally broke the ice for the Mids with a jumper ending a 0-8 drought to begin the half. That bucket sparked a 14-2 run over the next 5:12 to bring Navy within one at 45-44. Meyer scored seven of her 10 point during the run. She also finished with a team best six rebounds.

Radford responded as freshman Corrie Fertitta (Roanoke, Va.) and Causey each hit one of their combined seven threes to push the lead back to seven with just over six minutes to go. Navy cut the lead to four with 1:57 left, but RU hit 6-of-10 freebees down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Causey went 4-for-8 from three-point land and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe and had three steals. She surpassed the 1,200-point plateau in the first half and currently has 1,213 combined career points at Radford and University of North Alabama.

Fertitta finished with 12 points, going 3-for-4 from behind the arc, with seven rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Shavon Earp (Hampton, Va.) chipped in with 11 points, six boards and three steals.

box score

In the first half, the Highlanders came out on fire going up 16-7 in the first 6:21, shooting 6-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from the land of three. Then RU went cold, not hitting a field goal for the next 8:59, allowing Navy to tie the game at 18 with 5:13 to go on the clock. The Mids took a short-lived 21-20 lead on a three by Lauren Skrel, but senior Jesse Brunjak (Ooltewah, Tenn.) nailed a trey on the next possession to give RU the lead for good.

Radford outrebounded its opponent for the fifth straight game, 42-34, led by a game best eight from senior Alisha Jones (Mesa, Az.) and seven from Fertitta and sophomore Sarah Stephens (Hampton, Va.). Radford shot better from behind the arc than it did from the field hitting a season high 9-of-20 for 45 percent, while only shooting 33 percent from the field. The Mids shot 36 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point land.

The Highlanders next opponent will be at home on Mon. Jan. 10 at 5 pm when they host IPFW. The Midshipmen open Patriot League play on Sat. Jan. 8 when they host Lafayette at 1 pm.