Feb. 7, 2001
RADFORD, VA– The Winthrop Lady Eagles made history in their 62-56 victory over the Radford Lady Highlanders, Wednesday evening.
The victory was only the third time in 38 meetings that Winthrop had defeated Radford, but it was the first time they had ever defeated them at the Dedmon Center. And to top it off, the Lady Eagles won the game with only six players. They had been playing with only seven players, but junior guard Tracy Aragon was suspended for the game just hours before the team departed on Tuesday.
The Lady Eagles (7-15, 3-6) used a lot of heart to earn its biggest win on the season. Radford (9-13, 4-5), led by 11 at halftime and had an 11-point lead with 9:45 remaining in the game. That’s when the defense for the Lady Eagles got tougher and began forcing Radford into several turnovers and missed opportunities. The 11-point deficit for Winthrop quickly turned into a 47-47 game in just over a five minute span.
Charlotta Wennefors scored seven points on that run that tied the game and then a jumper by Kia Bell with 3:31 gave the Lady Eagles their first lead of the second half, a lead they didn’t lose. Winthrop’s victory had a lot to do with its success from the free throw line. It hit 20-of-22, including 11-of-12 in the final 1:09.
Ishirel Hilliard stepped up with a career-high 16 points and four rebounds. Wennefors led all scorers with 17 points. Bell, coming off a career-high 17 points against South Carolina State, added 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds while Meredith Smith had 11 points. The Lady Eagles should be tired after playing four games in eight days, but they battled through the tiredness for a big win.
Winthrop’s half court defense was the key as it didn’t allow penetration up the middle, forcing Radford to the baseline. In the first meeting at the Winthrop Coliseum on Jan. 17, Radford had its way down the middle, which led to easy basket after easy basket and a 62 percent field goal percentage. Tonight the Lady Highlanders hit 39 percent from the floor. Sherri Rickman had 15 points and 10 boards while Catrice Horton added 13 points and nine rebounds.
The rebounding edge went to Radford 42-29, but Winthrop only had 12 turnovers compared to 21 for Radford.
The win gets Winthrop closer to the middle of the pack in the Big South Conference and will host three of its next four conference games at home. The next game will be Saturday at the Winthrop coliseum at 7 p.m. against conference foe High Point.
