HIGH POINT - High Point University and Radford both started off cold. But the Highlanders ultimately figured it out and the Panthers didn't.
High Point largely created the chances it wanted on offense. But it couldn't put points on the board in falling 65-48 in Big South Conference women's basketball Wednesday in the Qubein Center.
"They kicked our butts tonight," Panthers coach Chelsea Banbury said. "They came out ready to go and beat us in basically all aspects. We didn't shoot the ball well, didn't finish well at the rim. We let them get hot from 3, and that spread us out. And then they were able to get to the basket."
A lot of the teams' numbers were similar - similar turnovers, similar 3-pointers made. But Radford finished with a notable advantage in points in the paint (38-22) as it converted close opportunities and High Point didn't.
The Highlanders shot 48% for the game while the Panthers shot 29%. The biggest difference was in the second half - Radford was 57% while High Point was 30%, turning a five-point game at halftime into a 17-point result.
"They hit a couple 3s, we spread out and we didn't do what we'd been doing a good job of - helping each other and playing them into people," Banbury said. "They were able to get to the rim, pretty much whoever wanted to, and they were able to score. We had 12 turnovers in the first half that turned into points.
"Yeah, we shot terrible. Most of these games I've come in here and we've had people 8 for 10 and 9 for 11. And now you look at it and it's 3 for 10, 0 for 7 and 4 for 12. It's just not good enough. The refs were letting us play and play through contact. We didn't do a good enough job adjusting and finishing."
Lauren Scott and Dom Nesland each scored 11 points to lead the Panthers (12-11 overall, 7-3 conference), who dipped a half-game behind first-place Longwood with just under a month left in the regular season.
Jaleesa Lawrence added 10 points and seven rebounds while Nevaeh Zavala had nine points and seven rebounds. The struggle was that nobody was on - every High Point player shot less than 50%.
As the game wore on, Radford (10-13, 7-3) - led by Cate Carlson with 16 points - started to convert more, scoring on a handful of pick-and-rolls that led to easy scores. It went on a 16-4 run to lead by 15 with two minutes left in the third.
The Panthers, trying hard to score near the basket and occasionally hitting from outside, got as close as seven in the fourth before the difference ultimately hit 17 in the final seconds.
High Point will look to bounce back Saturday at last-place UNC Asheville before traveling to first-place Longwood on Wednesday.
"We've got to learn from our mistakes, obviously, and we do have to move on," Banbury said. "We do have another game Saturday. We have to show up, execute the scout and handle our business in that."
MEN'S GAME
RADFORD, Va. - High Point University built a second-half lead and held on to beat Radford 78-75 in Big South Conference men's basketball Wednesday in Radford's Dedmon Center.
Kezza Giffa scored 20 points - including making both of his shots from 3-point range and all six of his shots from the foul line - to lead the Panthers (20-5 overall, 8-2 conference), who reached the 20-win mark for the second straight season after not having 20 wins since 2015-16 and 2014-15.
Chase Johnston added 14 points, eclipsing 1,500 points for his career, on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Kimani Hamilton chipped in 10 points while D'Maurian Williams, Abdoulaye Thiam and Juslin Bodo Bodo, who had eight rebounds, each had nine points. Williams also had four assists.
Both teams shot well - neither team was worse than 42% in either half. Just High Point was better, making 50% in the first to lead 36-32 and 63% in the second for a 57% average for the game. The Panthers led by nine in the second before Radford got as close as two three times inside the final five minutes.
Jarvis Moss had 21 points for Radford (15-10, 5-5), which shot 47% for the game.
High Point will next play Saturday at home against UNC Asheville in a meeting of the top two teams in the conference. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. in the Qubein Center.