LADY BUCS INVADE DEDMON FOR SATURDAY MATCHUP WITH RU

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RADFORD, Va. – Riding a four-game win streak, the Radford women's basketball team looks to carry its momentum into Saturday when Charleston Southern travels to the New River Valley for a 3:00 p.m. Big South clash on the hardwood.

MEET THE LADY BUCS

♦ Saturday's contest features the top-2 squads in the league in free-throw efficiency. CSU (5-10, 0-6 Big South) leads the conference at 75.7 percent from the charity stripe, while the Highlanders are right behind at 73.8 percent.
♦ Offensively, the Lady Bucs rank eighth in the league in scoring offense at 59.7 points per game. On the defensive side of the ball, CSU is 10th out of 11 squads by allowing 68.7 points an outing.
♦ Averaging 6.4 3-pointers per game, the Lady Bucs rank third in the Big South.
♦ Lakeitha Alston puts up 14.2 points a contest, which leads CSU and is the eighth-best scoring average in the league. Erin Bratcher drops in 10.7 a game to rank 16th in the Big South.
♦ Alston paces the rebounding efforts for the Lady Bucs, pulling down 6.1 boards each time out.
♦ CSU dropped a Big South decision at Winthrop, 85-65, Thursday evening from Winthrop Coliseum.

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford (9-6, 4-2 Big South) is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 13.1 per contest (10th-best in conference), while Victoria Hamilton crashes the boards for a team-best eight rebounds per outing (ranks sixth in league). Hamilton ranks fourth in the league in steals (2.4). Buckhannon is only 45 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 73.8 percent of their attempts, which ranks second in the Big South.
♦ At 11.2 steals per game, Radford ranks second in the league, while ranking first in the Big South in turnover margin (+3.6).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ Radford owns the all-time series with CSU, 41-17. The Highlanders hold a 25-3 advantage in contests played as the home squad, including the last meeting, a 73-66 decision inside the Dedmon Center.

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ After enjoying a brief homestand, RU hits the road for its next four league tilts. First up will be a Jan. 24 matchup with Campbell at 7:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ For the fourth time this season, Radford women's basketball held its opponent to 50 points or less as the Highlanders claimed a 68-50 decision in Big South action inside the Dedmon Center on a snowy Thursday afternoon.
♦ With its fourth straight victory, Radford improved to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in league play.
♦ Ashley Buckhannon led four Highlanders in double figures with a game-high 22 on 7-of-15 shooting. Diani Mason and Victoria Hamilton contributed 11 points each, while Sarah Tabb chalked up 10 points and 10 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season and second of her career. Hamilton also dished out a career-high-tying six assists.
♦ Nearly four minutes into the second stanza, Coastal Carolina was able to close the gap to seven (35-28). From there, it was all Radford. Using a 16-4 streak, the Highlanders established a 51-32 advantage and never looked back. Improving upon its first half performance, Radford finished with a 41.9 percent clip in the final frame and a 36.9 percent rating for the game. For the second straight outing, the Highlanders held their opponent under 40 percent from the floor as the Chanticleers only managed 36.2 percent.
♦ In addition to edging the visitors in rebounding (39-37), RU controlled the paint for a 34-14 advantage to improve to 8-0 when winning this category. The Highlanders' ferocious defense picked up right where it left off in the first half by forcing 10 more CCU turnovers in the second half. For the game, Radford cashed in the Chanticleers' 24 miscues for 29 points.
♦ RU's bench played a vital role in initiating the surge to cushion the hosts' lead in the final 20 minutes of action, which led to a 23-5 advantage in bench scoring. Continuing its stellar play from the charity stripe, Radford connected on 15-of-16 for a season-best 93.8 percent mark.

LAST MEETING WITH CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

♦ Behind three players in double figures and 63.6 percent shooting, Radford women's basketball defeated Charleston Southern, 73-66, Feb. 13, 2012 for its seventh straight victory.
Da'Naria Erwin Spencer topped the 20-point plateau for the 11th time on the season with a team-high 23 points. Ashley Buckhannon chipped in with 16 points, 11 coming in the first half, and dished out 4 assists. Ayana Avery rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Frontcourt duo Victoria Hamilton and Sarah Tabb did work on the glass, pulling down nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
Charleston Southern's Lakeitha Alston was nearly unstoppable in the paint, as she recorded a game-high 27 points. Rachelle Coward, the Big South's second leading scorer, recorded 17 points, one shy of her average.
The 63 percent (28-of-44) shooting from the floor was just two percent shy of becoming a new Dedmon Center record. The seventh straight league win for the Highlanders stands as the longest streak since 1992-93.

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