The Big South Conference has honored four Radford University women basketball players. Pictured are: (from left) Jen Falconer, Janayla White, Destinee Walker and Jayda Worthy.
Radford University women’s basketball team was well represented throughout the Big South Conference’s postseason awards as announced by the league Tuesday afternoon. Earning first team honors for the second time in her career was senior Janayla White, while fellow senior Jayda Worthy was named the league’s defensive player of the year in addition to her second team honors.
In all, four Highlanders were recognized, headlined by White and Worthy. Destinee Walker joined the duo with all-conference honors as she earned a spot on the honorable mention team. Redshirt sophomore Jen Falconer was acknowledged on the all-academic team for the first time in her career.
White received two first-place votes and totaled 110 points, finishing 10 points behind Liberty’s Keyen Green for the league’s player of the year award. Worthy tallied two first-place votes for 17 total points, edging Presbyterian’s Cortney Storey for the defensive player of the year honor.
The core of White, Worthy and Walker finished as Radford’s top three scorers; responsible for 30.7 of Radford’s 61.4 points per game. The same trio earned all-conference a season ago as Radford has placed three players on all-conference teams in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1988-89/1989-90.
Finishing the regular season with a vengeance, White tallied eight double-figure performances in the last 10 games, totaling 14 on the season. She finished with nine double-doubles, six coming in league play to give her 32 in her career. The Virginia Beach, Va., native finished with 10.3 ppg and 8.2 rebounds per game. White led the league with 2.1 blocks per game.
“Janayla really came on strong during the second half of the conference season. She had to overcome some nagging injuries over the past two years, so we appreciate her perseverance and determination to help the team as best she could,” said head coach Mike McGuire. “Now that she is healthy, everyone sees what type of impact player she is in the Big South Conference.”
In Big South play, White averaged 11.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 2.2 bpg in 18 league games. Making 75 of her 123 field goal attempts in conference action, White finished second with a 61.0 field goal percentage. Finishing tied with a league best three Big South Player of the Week awards, White is currently eighth in Big South history with 959 career rebounds and 10th with 205 blocks.
“It has been a true pleasure to coach Janayla over the last four years. Coaches do not get the opportunity to coach many post players that score over 1,000 points and almost grab 1,000 rebounds in a career. Those stats are beyond impressive,” McGuire added. “Janayla has had a big-time career at Radford and we are very proud of her.”
Earning honorable mention honors a season ago, White earned a first team nod during the 2015-16 season.
Consistency is the only word to describe Worthy’s career in a Radford uniform as she finishes her career as a second teamer and the fourth defensive player of the year in program history. Worthy is the first Highlander to don the honor since Johnette Walker did in 2009.
Finishing the season with double-figures in 19 games with 13 coming in conference play, Worthy turned in a career best three 20-point performances. Worthy finished ninth in the league with 11.9 ppg and 11th with 6.2 rpg. She compiled a 53.1 field goal percentage to finish third in the conference. An all-around player, Worthy finished in the Big South Top 15 in assists (2.1), steals (1.2) and blocks (21). Worthy averaged 12.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg in Big South play, while finishing with a 53.9 field goal percentage.
“Jayda has become such a consistent player for us. She is exceptional in her work and preparation. She has an incredible feel for what the team needs from her each game. Along with her toughness and grit, she is one of the smartest basketball players I have ever coached,” McGuire stated. “Her team attitude and approach over the past few years is an example of what it takes to help build a successful program. Jayda is a winner and it is no coincidence that our program has won a lot of games throughout her career. She has had an impactful career at Radford and we are proud of her.”
The vocal leader on Radford’s defense, Worthy does things on the hardwood that do not show up in the box score. That grit has led Radford to ranking as the fifth best defense in the country with a 52.1 scoring defense. Radford also ranks 12th with a 27.1 three-point field goal defense and 13th with a 35.4 field goal percentage defense. Worthy finished with three-plus steals in four games and three games of three-plus blocks. She has only fouled out of one game as Radford committed only 13.4 fouls per game to rank 11th overall.
“I am thrilled the coaches recognized Jayda as the defensive player of the year. Jayda’s defensive intensity, awareness and focus do not always show up in the stats,” McGuire said. “However, she has been a huge reason why our program identity has become our defense over the last four years. She has really bought into a team defensive approach and has excelled in a huge way.”
Rounding out the Highlanders on all-conference teams, Walker earned honorable mention honors after scoring double-digits in 17 games with 11 coming in league play. She finished 11th in scoring with 11.1 ppg, while finishing 10th with a 40.7 shooting clip. Walker was even better in Big South play with a 43.0 percentage to rank seventh. She dished out three-plus assists in eight games, averaging 1.9 per game. Over the past two seasons, Walker has scored 760 points.
“Destinee is so talented and is still learning how to best utilize her talents. Her abilities and versatility create so many options for our team,” McGuire noted. “There are times when we ask a lot of Destinee during a game and she is willing to do what the team needs from her. Destinee worked through a lot this season and we are proud of her for finding ways to push through.”
Possessing a 3.91 GPA, Falconer was named to the Big South All-Academic team. The marketing major averaged 3.8 ppg, while dishing out 2.6 assists per game. She led the team with 36 steals, averaging 1.2 per game.
“When Jen stepped on campus for her first summer school, I knew she was going to be special. She has a tremendous drive to be the best that she can be on-and-off the floor. She is well rounded, ultra-competitive and strives for excellence in all that she does,” McGuire said. “I even love her never satisfied mentality because it continues to push her forward as a person, student and athlete. Jen is a fantastic representative for our program and a model student-athlete for Radford University.”
The quartet played a major part in helping Radford earn the No. 2 seed in the 2018 Big South Women’s Basketball Championship to be held in Lynchburg, Va., March 9-11. The Highlanders will take on the winner of No. 7 Gardner-Webb/No. 10 Winthrop on Friday in a 6 p.m., quarterfinal meeting.
2017-18 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE
First-Team All-Conference
- Keyen Green, F, Soph., Liberty
- Cortney Storey, G, Sr., Presbyterian
- Janayla White, F, Sr., Radford
- Bronaza Fitzgerald, C, Sr., UNC Asheville
- Emma Bockrath, G, Jr., High Point
Second-Team All-Conference
- Jayda Worthy, F, Sr., Radford
- Khaila Webb, G, Sr., UNC Asheville
- Summer Price, G, Sr., Campbell
- Alexus Hill, G, Sr., Gardner-Webb
- Tierra Huntsman, G, R-Sr., Gardner-Webb
Honorable Mention All-Conference
- Autumn Childress, G, Sr., Longwood
- Destinee Walker, G, Jr., Radford
- KK Barbour, F, Jr., Liberty
- MaKala Rouse, G, Sr., Campbell
- Kacie Hall, G, Soph., Presbyterian
All-Freshman Team
- Ashtyn Baker, G, Fr., Liberty
- Anika Riley, G, Fr., Winthrop
- Ashlyn Hampton, F, Fr., Campbell
- Kyra Davis, F, Fr., Campbell
- Tess Santos, F, Fr., Presbyterian
All-Academic Team
- Sarah Smith, F, Sr., Campbell
- Anna Webster, G, Soph., Charleston Southern
- Carley Plentovich, G, Soph., Gardner-Webb
- Lindsey Edwards, G/F, Jr., High Point
- Molly Reagan, F/C, Jr., Liberty
- Kate Spradlin, G, Soph., Longwood
- Janie Miles, G, Sr., Presbyterian
- Jen Falconer, G, R-Soph., Radford
- Tiffany Wilson, F, Jr., UNC Asheville
- Noell Kellers, G, Jr., Winthrop
Player of the Year
- Keyen Green, F, Soph., Liberty
Freshman of the Year
- Ashtyn Baker, F, Liberty
Defensive Player of the Year
- Jayda Worthy, F, Sr., Radford
Coach of the Year
- Mike McGuire, Radford
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Janie Miles, G, Sr., Presbyterian