RADFORD, Va. - Radford pulled away from Charleston Southern in the second half to offset a 17 point performance by CSU's Shay Jones as the Highlanders held off the Lady Bucs challenge on Saturday afternoon inside the Dedmon Center, 71-60.

Jones led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds for CSU (5-11, 0-7 Big South) off the bench, while Lakeitha Alston had 15 points and five boards of her own as the Lady Bucs fell for the seventh time in conference play on the season. DJ Fowler struggled to hit from the floor in the contest, but finished with 14 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line and added five steals in the loss.

Ayana Avery led the Highlanders (10-6, 5-2 Big South) with 15 points, while Ashley Buckhannon (12) and Da'Nar Erwin Spencer (10) were also in double-digits for Radford. The Highlanders held a 35-13 advantage in points off turnovers and edged CSU in points in the paint, 32-26 in the win.

Radford and Charleston Southern traded baskets throughout the first seven minutes of the game as the teams stood tied at 10-all with 12:37 to play following a three-pointer by Jones.

The Highlanders built an eight point lead with a 12-4 run, as Avery connected on back-to-back three-pointers with 5:19 to play, but CSU rallied to knot the game up for the third time in the half as Monique Maximilien drove in for the layup off the assist from Fowler to put the score at 22-all with 2:39 to play.

Maximilien's basket was during a 13-5 Charleston Southern run to close out the first half as Alston hit a three-pointer and Fowler had a steal and fast break layup to give the Lady Bucs the 27-22 lead with 59 ticks remaining in the half. Ashia Holmes closed out the half with a layup in the final seconds to send the teams into the break with CSU in the lead 27-24.

Radford retook the lead with 18:01 to play in the second half as Diani Mason made a pair of free throws and Sarah Tabb hit a jumper to give the Highlanders the 28-27 lead.

Radford went up six following a Buckhannon layup on the fast break, but CSU rallied back to tie the game for the fourth time with 13:02 to play following Anicia Dotson's free throw attempt to put the score at 38-all.

Radford responded to the CSU run with a 12-2 streak of their own, building their first double-digit lead of the game with 8:42 to play as Ayana connected on a three-pointer and made back-to-back free throws to put the score at 50-40 in favor of the Highlanders.

CSU rallied to bring the game back to within six for one final stretch as Jones made a layup and made a pair of free throws, but Radford extended the lead back out to double-digits in closing out the 71-60 win.

The Lady Bucs and RU, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in free-throw percentage in the Big South, respectively, did not fare well from the charity stripe. The visitors converted 59.4 percent (19-32), while the Highlanders shot 57.1 percent (12-21).

Charleston Southern returns to the Buc Dome as the Lady Bucs host UNC Asheville on Wednesday, January 24th, with tipoff between CSU and the Bulldogs set for 7 p.m.