HARRISONBURG, Va. – Radford’s women’s basketball season came to an end in the first round of the WNIT at James Madison tonight from the JMU Convocation Center. The Highlanders battled the Dukes for 40 minutes but fell, 80-58. Despite the loss, Radford put together one of best seasons in several years. The Highlanders finished, 23-12, the second most wins in school history, and seniors Kelli Darden (Chesapeake, Va.) and Corrie Fertitta (Roanoke, Va.) were key contributors in returning Radford women’s basketball back to its winning ways.

Darden finished with 11 points and two points (1207) ahead of Fertitta for fifth all-time at Radford. Fertitta, who had 10 points and a team high seven rebounds, finished with 1,205 point and 915 rebounds (third at Radford). Darden leaves as the Highlanders all-time blocks leader (293) and is sixth all-time on the rebounding list with 770.

JMU’s Tamera Young led all scorers with a school record 38 points to go along with 12 rebounds and five assists. She was 14-of-24 from the field and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Freshman Taleia Moton (Fort Washington, Md.) paced RU with a team high 14 points and three steals. She was 3-of-6 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line.

Radford used an 8-2 run, capped off by Fertitta’s three, to take a 9-5 lead at 14:57. The Highlanders went into a slump, scoring one field goal during a 7:46 span. During the slump, the Dukes used 15-3 run to go up 20-12 with eight minutes on the clock.

With JMU leading 27-16, sophomore Kymesha Alston (Hampton, Va.) scored four straight points to highlight a 6-0 spurt by RU to get within 27-22 with 52 second left. A free throw by Lauren Jimienez and a put back by Young with .01 seconds gave the Dukes a 30-23 lead at the break.

The Highlanders shot just 20 percent (6-30) from the floor, but were able to stay in the game by hitting 9-of-12 free throws in the first half. Fertitta and Alston paced RU with six points apiece. RU held the Dukes to 34.3 percent from the field, but JMU was able to hit six more shots than Radford.

JMU also controlled the boards, outrebounding RU, 27-21 with 11 offensive caroms that led to nine second chance points. Young led all scores at the break with 14 points.

Radford cut it to four (34-30) early in the second half on a pair of freebees by Moton (pictured) at the 15:18 mark. JMU answered with six of the next seven points to go up 40-31.The Highlanders cut it to seven points four times in the next 3:32, but were unable to get a defensive stop and the Dukes used an 8-0 spurt to push their lead to 15 (52-37) with 9:34 left.

The Highlanders made one last push, cutting the deficit to 55-45 on junior Johnette Walker’s (Columbia, S.C.) triple with 7:02 remaining. Young answered with fadeaway jumper on the next possession and the Dukes were able to match every Radford bucket over the next five minutes before they scored nine of the final 10 points for the final margin.

Radford shot 30 percent for the game and was outrebounded 54-37, including 24-16 on the offensive glass. The Highlanders did break a 28-year old record, finished the season with 874 defensive rebounds. They also finished with 1,494 total boards, second most in a single season.

Walker and Alston chipped in with nine points apiece for RU. Jennifer Brown also had a double-double for the Dukes with 11 points and 11 rebounds.