Box Score
HIGH POINT, NC— Winthrop held Radford to 17 second half points and pulled off the first upset of the 2010-11 Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Championship by knocking off the two-seed, 59-38, Friday evening at the Millis Center on the campus of High Point University.
After a first half that saw the Lady Eagles hold the Highlanders to 21 points on 30 percent shooting in the first half, Winthrop tightened up even more defensively and allowed just 17 points in the second half on 15 percent shooting. The victory puts the Lady Eagles into the semi-finals of the conference tournament for the fifth time in six years and will face third-seeded Gardner-Webbon Saturday at 6 p.m. It will be Winthrop's 11th appearance in the semi-finals.
Winthrop (13-17) led 26-21 at the break and opened the second half with an 8-0 run behind two baskets inside by TaQuoia Hammick to push the lead to double-figures. Radford responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to six points, 34-28, with 13:17 remaining in the game. Winthrop came right back with six straight points and held the Highlanders to just 10 points the rest of the way.
Dequesha McClanahan and Hammick both hit two free throws on back-to-back possessions with under eight minutes to go to extend the lead to 13 points. Then a big moment in the game to help seal the deal came with four and a half minutes as Ashley Cox fed Hammick inside who was fouled and got the shot to fall. Hammick completed the three-point play for a 48-31 lead.
“First of all I want to thank my team for picking me up this week,” said Winthrop head coach Bud Childers. “It's been the hardest week of my life as a coach. I've got two great leaders sitting next to me (McClanahan and Hammick in the media interview room) and they came to comfort me this week. We have the youngest team in the league but we have potential and I think tonight you saw that potential. I thought defensively we stuck right with our plan and made things difficult. What's been a difficult week, today sure makes it a lot better.”
The defense gave Radford (14-16) trouble all game as it couldn't get to the paint. That forced the Highlanders to settle for 23 three-point shots and 13-for-60 shooting. McClanahan along with her teammates held First Team All-Big South selection Da'Naria Erwin Spencer to 1-for-13 shooting and two points, her lowest point total of the season.
“Our match-up zone was very good today,” added Childers. “We just didn't let them get into the paint. At the 12 minutes mark of the second half I thought we really settled in. Generally I think we made it uncomfortable for them the entire game.”
The 38 points were the fewest ever allowed by Winthrop in its history of the conference tournament.
With just under four minutes remaining in the first half, Winthrop led by 10 points but turnovers proved costly down the stretch in letting Radford cut the lead in half before the intermission.
Ashley Buckhannon's three with 1:53 remaining cut the lead to five points at 23-18, but McClanahan answered back with a three-point play as she drove to the basket and converted on a lay-up and a foul. Radford scored the last three points, including a running jumper by Breshara Gordon from 16-feet that banked in off the glass.
Winthrop opened up a 20-8 lead in the first half with 7:20 to go after a McClanahan jumper. The lead was 12 after a Lacey Lyons three-pointer with 5:12 to go, but Radford went on an 8-0 run thanks to five Winthrop turnovers.
McClanahan lived up to her award of Big South Freshman of the Year, which she was recognized for Thursday night, as she had a game-high 17 points on 4-for-11 shooting and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Lyons chipped in with 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds. Hammick had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Erica Rivera and Buckhannon led Radford in scoring as they each had eight points off the bench, which scored 24 of the team's 38 points. Brooke McElroy had seven points and 14 rebounds.
