FARMVILLE, Va. – Radford junior guard Khiana Johnson scored a game-high 15 points while Lydia Rivers collected her fourth double-double of the season to lead the Big South preseason favorite Highlanders past the Longwood women's basketball team 68-34 Saturday afternoon inside Willett Hall.
 
Rivers, who came into the game averaging a conference-best 9.9 rebounds per game, had 10 boards along with 13 points in her third double-double of Big South play. Along with Johnson, she helped pace four Highlanders (11-6, 5-1 Big South) in double figures, as Destinee Walker added 10 points, eight rebounds and Jen Falconer chipped in with 12, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Radford was able to overcome a double figure performance from senior Ciarah Bennett, who finished with 10 points – all in the first half. Kristina Antonenko added 10 points for the Lancers (1-14, 0-5 Big South) while collecting six rebounds.
 
"The first four minutes of the third quarter, we have to be focused and be ready to go in the second half," said Longwood head coach Rebecca Tillett. "It's been consistent in Big South play that we're not attacking that moment with the intensity and urgency that we need.
 
"Radford is a very talented team with five players on the court that can score at all times, so for us to execute some of the beginning pieces of the game plan was positive."
 
Yielding 57.6 points per game – second in the Big South – Radford held the Lancers to 34 points, the fewest for Longwood on its home court since its 2018 loss against the Highlanders. Radford's defensive effort held Longwood to a .231 (12-52) shooting clip and 4-of-19 (.211) from three-point range. The Highlanders limited Longwood's dynamic offensive duo of Dayna Rouse and Stephanie Guihon to three points, as the Lancer pair came into the game averaging 25.0 points.
 
"They have great size and stay very disciplined," Tillett said. "They stay disciplined in their half-court man-to-man defense. You may have a short window for your shot to be open before they close that gap with their size."
 
Bennett scored in double figures for the sixth game this season and the third in the Big South, as she continues to have the best season of her Longwood career with 8.1 points per game.
 
Meanwhile, Antonenko – Longwood's leading scorer a season ago – came off the bench to score in double figures for the first time this season, as she finished 4-of-8 from the floor in 31 minutes.
 
Longwood will turn its attention to UNC Asheville Tuesday, Jan. 22 where the opening tip from Asheville, N.C. is set for 7 p.m. That game is the first of two straight on the road, as the Lancers will head to Big South newcomer USC Upstate Saturday, Jan. 26.
 
"We're just continuing to work on toughness possession-by-possession," Tillett said. "That's so critical for us in practice. We've made progress but we're not at the level we need to be at in practice to make the jumps we're trying to make in games.
 
"I remain positive that our team will figure this out and we're going to keep working everyday in order to do that."
 
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