BUIES CREEK, N.C. – A 6-0 start provided Campbell with a lead it would not relinquish in a 72-58 victory over Radford on Monday night at Gore Arena/John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center in the Big South opener for both teams. Senior forward Ashley James (Round Rock, Texas) registered a double-double with 10 points and tied a personal-high with 14 rebounds.
A 12-point performance by senior forward Roslyn Presley (Petersburg, Va.) paced Campbell (4-2, 1-0 Big South), while Ayana Avery led Radford (2-5, 0-1 Big South) with 17 points and 10 boards.
The Lady Camels had 13 players reach the score sheet as sophomore guard RaeChaun Edwards (Spring Grove, Va.) added eight points and seven points each were tallied by senior guard Jessica Moore (Jacksbooro, Tenn.) and junior guard D Janelle Brown (Oklahoma City, Okla.).
Following being out-rebounded at Mount St. Mary's in its last game, Campbell crashed the boards and owned a 44-37 rebounding advantage, which included 15 offensive rebounds of which 10 were tallied by James.
Campbell recorded 20 assists in the game led by Edwards with seven, tying her season best. The Spring Grove, Va., native also added a personal-high seven rebounds.
Radford was limited to 36.1 pct. shooting for the game, while the Lady Camels hit at a 43.5 pct. rate against the top defensive team in the league.
The Highlanders saw Aisha Foy (11) and Kiera McIvor (10) hit double digits in points during the contest. Kermisha Clark had a game-high five steals.
The Lady Camels opened as Presley, James and Moore hit shots before the Highlanders scored their first basket. Radford closed the deficit to four, 15-11 with 9:56 left in the half on a layup by Gaymon.
A layup by Presley jump started a 15-2 run by the Lady Camels, who kept Radford without a made field goal for a period of 6:48. Moore and Edwards nailed three-point field goals, while Presley added four points during the stretch.
Three pointers by junior guards Casey Elliott (Wilson, N.C.) and Summer Leverette (Turkey, N.C.) at the end of the half put the Lady Camels on top 37-20 at the break.
The second half started for the Lady Camels with jumpers by James and Presley to extend the advantage to 41-20, the largest lead of the game with 18:29 left. Campbell hit the 21-point plateau three more times during the stanza.
Campbell kept its advantage around 20 points until Radford began a run with four minutes remaining. The Highlanders cut the lead to 66-53 with 34 ticks on the clock.
Coach Watkins went to the bench and allowed for freshmen Qua Brown (Hampton, Va.) and Courtney Best (Raleigh, N.C.) and sophomores Jewell Yarborough (Creedmoor, N.C.) and Jessica Pone (High Point, N.C.) to receive some hard-earned playing time. All 15 players on the Campbell roster played at least three minutes.
Best scored four points in her first appearance for the Lady Camels, while classmate Amanda Coffer (Summerfield, N.C.) scored six points.
Campbell continues Big South play on Dec. 11 against Asheville at Gore Arena following a nine-day break for final exams. Radford heads to Liberty on Saturday to continue early-season league play.
