RADFORD CONTINUES GRUELING STRETCH AT HIGH POINT

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RADFORD, Va. – Looking to get back on the winning track, Radford travels to High Point to battle the Panthers in a 3:30 p.m. Big South clash inside the Millis Center, Saturday.

MEET THE PANTHERS

♦ Under the direction of first-year head coach DeUnna Hendrix, High Point is tied for second in the Big South entering Saturday's slate of contests.
♦ Offensively, the Panthers rank fourth in the conference in scoring at 65.9 points per game. On the defensive side of the ball, HPU is seventh by allowing 62.9 points an outing.
♦ At 7.58 blocks a game, the Panthers lead the league in that category, while ranking third in rebounding (43.8) and assists (14.2).
♦ Cheyenne Parker puts up 17.8 points a contest, which leads HPU and is the second-best scoring average in the BSC. Parker, who became the seventh member of the Panthers' 1,000-point club Thursday, leads the conference in rebounding (13.1) and nation in blocks (4.4). Stacia Robertson, who chalked up a career-high 28 points against Longwood in High Point's last outing, averages 11.6 points each time out (13th-best in BSC).
♦ Behind Robertson's 28 and Parker's 15th double-double of the season, HPU took down first-place Longwood (83-66) Thursday night inside the Millis Center.

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 12.8 per contest (11th-best in conference), while Victoria Hamilton crashes the boards for a team-best 7.8 rebounds per outing (ranks seventh in the league). Buckhannon (2.6) and Hamilton (2.4) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Big South in steals. Buckhannon is only 23 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 73.3 percent of their attempts, which ranks second in the Big South.
♦ At 11.6 steals per game, Radford ranks second in the league, while ranking first in the Big South in turnover margin (+4.1).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ Despite winning three out of the last five against the Panthers, Radford trails 20-14 in the all-time series with High Point. The Highlanders had won two straight contests inside the Millis Center before RU dropped an 85-70 decision to the Panthers in the semifinals of the 2012 Big South Women's Basketball Tournament.

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ Continuing their season-long four-game road trip, the Highlanders head further south to take on Charleston Southern, Thursday, Jan. 31 in a Big South tilt inside Buccaneer Field House.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ Despite five players in double figures, Radford women's basketball could not overcome a 55-32 rebounding disadvantage as Campbell clawed out an 83-77 Big South overtime victory over the Highlanders inside Gore Arena Thursday night.
♦ With the loss, Radford's win streak ends at five games to drop to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in league play. Campbell improves to 13-6 on the season and 5-3 in the Big South.
♦ The Lady Camels' victory also snaps a five-game losing streak in the all-time series with RU.
♦ For the first time since Feb. 10, 2010, the Highlanders had five double-digit scorers. Da'Naria Erwin Spencer led the way with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including the deuce to force overtime with 14 seconds remaining in regulation.
♦ Ayana Avery and Diani Mason chipped in 13 points apiece, while Ashley Buckhannon and Victoria Hamilton charted 10 points each. Buckhannon also contributed a game-high six steals, while Sarah Tabb hauled in a team-best eight boards. Radford connected on 43.1 percent from the floor and was sharp from the charity stripe (84.2 percent).
♦ Paced by two career-high-setting nights, the Lady Camels shot 41.7 percent (30-of-72). Leading the way was Kiera Gaines, who was two assists away from a triple-double with career-highs in points (26) and rebounds (14), to go along with eight assists. Ashley James put up a career-high 20 points and crashed the boards for 11 rebounds.

LAST MEETING WITH HIGH POINT

♦ In the 1,100th game in program history, Radford women's basketball fell to High Point, 85-70, March 10, 2012 in the semifinals of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Tournament at the Millis Center.
♦ Cheyenne Parker led the way for High Point with her 19th double-double of the season, charting a game-high 22 points and 17 rebounds to go along with six blocks. Erin Reynolds finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Tayler Tremblay recorded 18 points.
♦ Radford was led by Ayana Avery, who finished with 19 points (16 in the second half), including five 3-pointers.
♦ Ashley Buckhannon tallied 16 points and finished the season with 66 3-pointers, one shy of tying the Radford single-season record. Da'Naria Erwin Spencer scored 15 points and was four shy of breaking into Radford's career Top-10.
♦ Victoria Hamilton had a valiant effort on the boards, collecting 10. It stood as her seventh double-digit rebounding performance of the year.
♦ Avery hit back-to-back 3-pointers with just over three minutes left to reduce the deficit to 15, 74-59. One last trifecta with 50 seconds remaining cut it down to 13, 83-70, but that was as close as RU would get.
♦ High Point opened the second half on a 10-2 run over the first 3:13 to pull ahead, 47-31. The Panthers stretched their lead out to as many as 25 to pave their way into the Big South Championship and a date with No. 1 overall seed Liberty.

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