Radford falls short in bid of claiming Big South women's basketball title

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — With two seconds left on the Freedom Hall Civic Center scoreboard, Radford guard Joi Williams rested her hands on her hips and absorbed the finality: the Big South tournament championship had slipped away. High Point held on for a 71-67 victory Sunday, denying the Highlanders their first conference crown since 2016.

Williams did everything she could to extend Radford’s season, pouring in a game-high 30 points on 12-of-25 shooting and burying four three-pointers. Ellie Taylor added 10 points and four assists, while Rachel Carlson chipped in nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. As a team, Radford knocked down 9 of 23 attempts from deep and out-rebounded High Point 42-33, but a 13-15 performance by the Panthers at the foul line proved decisive.

High Point’s Anna Hager torched the nets for 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and hit 4 of 5 from three, while Emma Collins contributed 21 points and six assists. The Panthers shot 45 percent from the field and matched Radford with 12 assists, sealing the four-point win in front of 1,366 fans.

Radford finishes the season at 26-68 from the floor and 6-10 from the stripe, left to regroup after a hard-fought title-game defeat.