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Colleges

WBB: Defense Jumpstarts Campbell in 66-52 Win at Radford

Feb 8, 2013

Radford, Va. — The Campbell women's basketball team used a smothering defense throughout the game and outscored host Radford, 47-31, in the second half to secure a 66-52 victory on Thursday night inside the Dedmon Center. Senior guard Tonisha Baker (High Point, N.C.) poured in a game-high 15 points, while adding 13 points each were junior forward Roslyn Presley (Petersburg, Va.) and sophomore Kiera Gaines (Mechanicsville, Va.).

Keying the second half surge was a strong team defensive effort in the first half that limited the Highlanders' shooting to 28.0 pct. as the shots for the Lady Camels were not falling. Campbell was just 8-for-22 overall in the first frame and missed all seven three-point attempts.

Following four-straight points by Presley going into the intermission that brought the deficit within two, 21-19, Campbell saw Gaines and freshman Zena Lovette(High Point, N.C.) drill consecutive three-point attempts that led to a 17-2 run and powered the Lady Camels to victory. The team made each of their three second half attempts from behind the arc.

Sophomore Juli Osborne (Kingsport, Tenn.) tallied nine second-half points off the bench. The Lady Camels recorded 26 of 31 bench points during their second-half rally, while hitting at a 62.5 pct. rate from the field to finish 50 pct. overall.

Five points were added by freshman RaeChaun Edwards (Spring Grove, Va.) and sophomore guard Casey Elliott (Wilson, N.C.) helped finish off the Highlanders by sinking four free throws.

Both teams prospered in transition with each totaling 21 points off turnovers. The Lady Camels paced the game with 12 fast break points that were created by 11 steals. Gaines forced five of those steals and registered a team-high nine rebounds, one away from her sixth double-double of the season.

A stark difference from the first game the teams played was in the rebounding department as the Highlanders held a 41-34 advantage. Radford pulled down 20 offensive boards as Victoria Hamilton totaled a team-high eight.

The Highlanders were led by Ashley Buckhannon with 14 points followed by Da'Naria Erwin-Spencer with 13.

Beginning the game, Radford made the first shot as Buckhannon recorded her 1,000th career point. The Lady Camels defense took over from there forcing four turnovers that lead to eight points. Baker had six of those points including four on the fast break to take an 8-3 lead with 14:42 left.

Radford responded in a hurry as it beat the Campbell pressure and rattled off a 9-2 run to take a 12-10 advantage with 11:14 remaining. Gaines hit back-to-back jumpers to keep the game knotted up at 14-all.

The largest advantage of the half came with Radford up 21-15 with 3:50 on the clock. Campbell had numerous great looks and the ball would rim out, but a four-point surge by the Lady Camels was created by Presley going to the basket, cutting the Highlanders advantage to 21-19 at the break.

With Campbell on top, 40-33 with 12:14 remaining in the game, the Lady Camels ended any doubt in the outcome by rattling off a 15-0 run that was fueled by turnovers and a trey by Edwards. That led to the largest lead of the game, 55-33 at 6:50.

The closest that Radford would come down the stretch before the final horn was 64-52 with less than a minute left. Free throws helped seal the victory as the Lady Camels converted 17-of-24 opportunities in the contest.

Campbell notched just its second overall win at Radford in the Dedmon Center during the regular season and swept the season series for the first time since 1991.

The Lady Camels wrap up a two-game road trip on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Winthrop. Campbell hosts its "Play for Kay" game on Thursday at Gore Arena/John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center vs. Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m.