RADFORD PREPARES TO FACE COASTAL CAROLINA THURSDAY NIGHT

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RADFORD, Va. – Following its two-game road sweep of Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian College, the Radford women's basketball team returns to its home court looking to hold serve against Coastal Carolina, Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

MEET THE CHANTICLEERS

♦ Coastal's defense, ranked fourth-best in the Big South, allows 58.2 points an outing. The unit ranks third in field goal percentage defense (.360). CCU is right behind Radford in the league's steals category at 10.63 per game.
♦ Offensively, the Chants average 56.4 points each time out (ranks ninth in the Big South), while hauling in 41.3 caroms a game (ranks fifth in the league).
♦ AJ Jordan averages a team-best 10.5 points per contest (16th in league scoring). Angelica Henry drops in 9.9 points a game (22nd in league scoring). Henry is eighth in the conference at dishing out dimes, averaging 3.44 assists a contest.
♦ Katelyn Connor leads the rebounding effort at 6.7 boards each time out.
♦ Liberty had four players finish with double figures in the scoring column as the Lady Flames downed Coastal Carolina, 76-48, in the Chants' last affair. Jordan notched her 10th double-digit scoring performance of the season as she led Coastal with 13 points and pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Redshirt freshman DJ Hunter finished the game with a career-high nine points.

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 12.4 per contest (10th-best in conference), while Victoria Hamilton crashes the boards for a team-best 7.9 rebounds per outing (ranks sixth in league). Hamilton ranks fourth in the league in steals (2.43). Buckhannon is only 67 points away from becoming the 20th member of Radford women's basketball's 1,000-point club.
♦ The Highlanders are efficient with their trips to the charity stripe, converting 72.5 percent of their attempts, which ranks second in the Big South.
♦ At 10.93 steals per game, Radford ranks second in the league, while also ranking second in the Big South in turnover margin (+3.21).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ Despite Coastal Carolina winning four of the last six outings, Radford owns the all-time series 39-16. The Highlanders hold a 24-4 advantage in contests played as the home squad, including the last meeting, a 55-43 decision inside the Dedmon Center.

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ Radford will play its third-straight opponent from the Palmetto State when Charleston Southern invades the New River Valley. The Buccaneers and the Highlanders are set to clash at 3:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ Presbyterian College entered Saturday's matchup second in the Big South in scoring defense, but it was Radford's defense rising to the occasion as the Highlanders handed PC its first setback in league play, 49-31, inside the Templeton Center.
♦ Victoria Hamilton notched a season-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting to spearhead the Highlanders' offensive attack. The senior from the U.S. Virgin Islands narrowly missed a double-double, pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. Ashley Buckhannon dished out a game-high four assists and was credited with a career-high-tying six steals.
♦ Using stifling defense, the Highlanders held PC to 21.1 percent (8-of-38) shooting for the game. It marked the lowest percentage by a Radford opponent under Ngongba's watch. The 31 points were the fewest allowed by the Highlanders since a 53-29 win over PC last season inside the Dedmon Center.
♦ Winning the battle in the paint (30-12), RU improves to 7-0 on the season when outscoring its opponent in the lane.
♦ Holding the Blue Hose without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes to open the game, Radford was able to build a 16-4 advantage. The Highlanders connected on 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) during the stretch. Devin Fothergill's layup at the 9:04 mark put the first field goal on the board for PC. From there, the hosts were able to trim the Highlanders' lead to 21-17 at the break.
♦ Kasey Hobbie cut the hosts' deficit to 25-24 following her deuce at the 14:48 mark. Ayana Avery buried the Highlanders' first and only 3-pointer of the evening on the ensuing possession to ignite a 16-4 streak to up RU's advantage to 41-28 with 7:31 to go. Kiera McIvor converted a fast-break layup to give Radford its largest margin of 18 (49-31), which ended up being the final tally. With the victory, RU improved to 11-1 all-time against the Blue Hose and snapped PC's five-game win streak.

LAST MEETING WITH COASTAL CAROLINA

♦ Paced by Ashley Buckhannon's 14 points and a 17-2 run to end the first half, Radford women's basketball ran past Coastal Carolina, 55-43, and claimed its sixth straight win Feb. 11, 2012 at the Dedmon Center.
♦ After giving up the initial bucket of the game, Radford quickly took the lead back on a 7-0 run. Coastal Carolina pulled within three, 11-8, before the Highlanders would go on a 17-2 run over the final 10:46 and wouldn't surrender the lead the rest of the way.
♦ The six straight wins is the longest overall streak since 2006-07 and the longest in league play since 1995-96, when RU had six straight wins over league foes, as well.
♦ Buckhannon led the way for Radford with 14 points go to along with 6 rebounds. Da'Naria Erwin Spencer was the other Highlander in double figures with 10 points and dished out 6 assists. Sarah Tabb led the way on the boards with 7.
♦ Olivia Irick paced the Chanticleers with 18 points to lead all scorers and also grabbed 7 rebounds.
♦ Eight Highlanders recorded at least a steal and collectively had 15 for the game. Radford forced 16 first-half miscues and turned those into 18 points on the other end. For the game, Coastal Carolina turned the ball over 22 times, while Radford held the edge in points off turnovers, 23-8.
♦ In addition, the Highlanders held a 22-6 edge in the paint and an 8-0 advantage in fast break points.
♦ Radford took a 27-10 lead into intermission and held the Chanticleers to just 27 percent shooting in each period.

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