Moton and Strong Second Half Lead Women’s Basketball to 61-45 Exhibition Win

Taleia Moton (Fort Washington, Md./Suitland H.S.) poured in a game-high 18 points and Radford used a 27-5 second-half run to defeat the University of D.C. 61-45 in women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Peters Hall.

A sophomore guard and product of Suitland High School, Moton knocked down 10-of-12 from the charity stripe, handed out five assists and recorded four steals. Johnette Walker (Columbia, S.C./Irmo H.S.), a preseason all-conference selection, also hit the 10-point plateau for the Highlanders with 15 points.

Despite finishing with a shooting percentage of 35.6 percent (16-45), the Highlanders shot 61.6 percent in the final period. Radford forced 36 Firebird miscues, turning them into 28 points. The Highlanders went to the line 45 times, connecting on 28 of them for a .622 clip.

After trading buckets to find themselves tied 9-9, the Firebirds went on a 10-3 run capped by a Shahara Johnson jumper to grab a 19-12 advantage with just under six minutes to go in the opening period. Radford responded with a lengthy streak of its own and tied the score 21-21 on a Moton layup. A pair of Moton free throws with just 19 ticks remaining gave the Highlanders their first lead since the 11:59 mark, but a Johnson putback at the buzzer evened things at the break, 23-23.

Moton and Walker combined to score 20 of the Highlanders’ 23 points in the first stanza with 10 each.

Radford opened the second half with consecutive three-point plays from Kymesha Alston (Hampton, Va./Manhattan College) and never looked back, stretching its lead to as many as 23 (58-35) on a Kaylyn Crosier (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston H.S.) free throw with 3:11 left to play.

Johnson led two University of D.C. players in double figures with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Lillian McGill finished with a double-double scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 boards.

Like Radford, the Firebirds shot just over 35-percent (20-57) from the field. Thanks to 21 offensive rebounds, the University of D.C. finished with a 51-29 advantage on the glass.