Radford, Va. - Senior Jesse Brunjak (Ooltewah, Tenn.) sparked a 13-point second half comeback and helped Radford (11-11, 5-4 Big South) win its ninth straight home game, 79-69 in overtime over UNC Asheville (13-9, 5-4 BSC) from the Dedmon Center this evening.
Brunjak finished the game with a career high 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three-point land, tying a school record for three’s in a game, and dishing out four assists. Kristal Hood led all scorers, pacing the Bulldogs with a game high 28 points and team best seven rebounds.
Freshman Corrie Fertitta (Roanoke, Va.) recorded her second double double with 12 points and a game best 11 rebounds and also had four assists. Sarah Stephens (Hampton, Va.) netted 16 points, while senior Taryn Causey (Collierville, Tenn.) dished out eight of RU’s 20 assists to go along with five steals and seven points.
box score
Radford trailed 57-44 after Lindsey Roche’s three at 10:49 concluded a 11-3 run by the Bulldogs to break open a five-point game. The Highlanders went on a 16-0 run, capped by back-to-back Brunjak threes to take a 60-57 lead with 6:42 to go. Brunjak tallied 10 points during the run.
The Bulldogs had a chance for the last shot in regulation but Hood had the ball stolen by Causey to give the Highlanders the last shot. Sophomore Shavon Earp (Hampton, Va.), who finished with 10 points making 7-of-8 from the free throw line, missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Radford began the overtime with an 8-0 run highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Brunjak and then made all six free throws to secure the victory to move into a third place tie with the Bulldogs and Charleston Southern. The win also moved head coach Jeri Porter to within one victory 100 in her seven year career.
The Highlanders began the game hitting 5 of its first six shots building a 13-4 lead. Hood hit a three pointer to begin a 7-2 run that brought the Bulldogs to within 15-11 at the 13:51 mark. The Highlanders pushed the lead back to 25-17with 8:40 remaining before the Bulldogs went on 12-1 run capped by a Roche three-pointer that gave Asheville its first lead at 29-26 at the 4:17 mark. Hood made a running lay-up at the buzzer to cap off an 8-1 spurt to give UNCA a 39-32 halftime lead. Roche finished the game with 11 points.
Asheville shot 42 percent from the field, but just 25 percent (5-20) from three-point land while the Highlanders shot 41 percent and 39 percent (9-24) form the land of three. Each team shot well from the line with RU going 14-for-16 (87.5%) and UNCA shooting 84 percent (16-19).
The Highlanders hit the road on Saturday, Feb. 19 when they face Coastal Carolina and the Bulldogs head home to host High Point on Saturday. Both games tip at 2 p.m.
