CRUCIAL ROAD STRETCH FOR WOMEN’S HOOPS BEGINS AT CAMPBELL

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RADFORD, Va. – Looking to build upon its five-game win streak, Radford women's basketball embarks on a four-game road swing beginning with a Jan. 24 clash at Campbell. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. inside Gore Arena.

MEET THE LADY CAMELS

♦ Thursday's contest features the top-2 squads in the league in steals. CU leads the Big South at 12.5 thefts a game, while the Highlanders (10-6, 5-2) are right behind at 11.44 steals an outing.
♦ Offensively, the Lady Camels (12-6, 4-3) rank second in the conference in scoring at 68.3 points per game. On the defensive side of the ball, CU is sixth by allowing 60.7 points an outing.
♦ Averaging 5.3 3-pointers per game, the Lady Camels rank fourth in the Big South. They top the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.5.
♦ Tonisha Baker puts up 14.9 points a contest, which leads CU and is the sixth-best scoring average in the BSC. Baker has the fourth-best field goal percentage in the league (49.1). Kiera Gaines drops in 10.1 a game to rank 21st in the Big South, while leading the Lady Camels in rebounding at 7.6 each time out.
♦ Campbell suffered a 65-58 Big South setback Saturday afternoon to Liberty from the Vines Center.

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 13.0 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). Buckhannon and Hamilton rank fourth in the league in steals (2.4). Buckhannon is only 33 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 72.6 percent of their attempts, which ranks third in the Big South.
♦ At 11.4 steals per game, Radford ranks second in the league, while ranking first in the Big South in turnover margin (+3.9).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ Radford owns the all-time series with Campbell, 19-7. The Highlanders hold a slight edge in road contests (6-5), including the last meeting, a 64-59 decision inside Gore Arena. RU has won five straight against the Lady Camels and nine out of the last 11.

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ After its trip to Buies Creek, Radford heads west to High Point to clash with the Panthers Saturday at 3:30 p.m. inside the Millis Center.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ Behind a season-best 52.8 percent clip from the hardwood and Radford's ferocious defense causing 28 Charleston Southern turnovers, the Highlanders gutted out a 71-60 Big South decision Saturday evening inside the Dedmon Center to up their win streak to five.
♦ Ayana Avery chalked up 15 points to lead three double-figure scorers for Radford. Ashley Buckhannon and Da'Naria Erwin Spencer dropped in 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Victoria Hamilton handed out a career-high-tying six assists for the second straight game. Buckhannon added six assists and four steals to her stat line.
♦ Erwin Spencer moved into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time career-scoring chart with 1,239. She passed Johnette Walker (1,238) with her performance Saturday.
♦ Once again, Radford relied on its superb defense to create its offense. Nearly half of the Highlanders' points came from capitalizing on CSU's mistakes—Radford held a 35-13 advantage in points off turnovers. Continuing with their dominance in the paint, the Highlanders edged the visitors, 32-26, in points scored in the lane.
♦ Following an Anicia Dotson free throw to tie the game for the fourth occasion at the 13:02 mark of the second stanza, Hamilton drained a baseline-jumper to ignite a 16-4 surge that gave RU a 54-42 lead with 6:28 showing on the clock.
♦ CSU was able to shred its deficit to six (58-52) at the 4:01 mark, but the Highlanders scored the next five points to restore their double-figure margin and cruise in from there. With the win, Radford improves to 6-2 in home competition this season.
♦ Connecting on a sizzling 58.6 percent (17-29) of their shots in the final 20 minutes of action, the Highlanders were able to post their highest shooting percentage of the season (52.8). Meanwhile, CSU managed 45 percent from the floor.

LAST MEETING WITH CAMPBELL

♦ Behind Da'Naria Erwin Spencer's game-high 24 points and 1,000-point milestone, Radford women's basketball won its fifth straight game with a 64-59 come-from-behind victory at Campbell Monday evening.
♦ At the 8:03 mark, Ashley Buckhannon threw an outlet pass off a turnover to Erwin Spencer who converted the layup to net 1,000 points for her career. She hit the milestone in style, converting a three-point play as she got fouled on the way up and drained the ensuing free throw. She joined Stephanie Howard, Patrinda Toney and Shannan Wilkey – the top-3 scorers in Radford history - as the only four players to accomplish the feat during their junior year.
♦ “I'm honored to be put in that category among all the great players that have played here at Radford,” commented Erwin Spencer. “Hopefully we continue playing great and getting wins.”
♦ The win stood as Radford's fifth straight and improved to 12-10 overall and 6-5 in the league.
♦ Erwin Spencer finished with 24 points, her fourth consecutive game topping the 20-point plateau. Buckhannon also hit the 20-point mark as she recorded 21, including a career-high six 3-pointers. It was the second time in the last three games the duo combined for 20 or more each in the same game. Victoria Hamilton collected nine rebounds for the third time in the last four games.
♦ Tonisha Baker and Jazmine Cooper led Campbell with 14 points apiece, while Amanda O'Neill recorded 11 to round out the double-figure scorers.
♦ The Highlanders hit a season-high 10 3-pointers in the game. Campbell converted 21-of-26 from the stripe compared to just 6-of-8 from Radford.

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