HIGHLANDERS, LEAGUE-LEADING LIBERTY SET TO BATTLE SATURDAY ON ESPN3

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RADFORD, Va. – Riding a six-game winning streak, Big South-leading Liberty welcomes the Radford women's basketball team to the Vines Center Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff on ESPN3. The conference clash has been designated as the Lady Flames' Play 4Kay game.

MEET THE LADY FLAMES

♦ Liberty (19-6, 11-2 Big South) enters Saturday's matchup with the league's longest active win streak of six. The Lady Flames have not lost since a 71-63 decision to High Point at home on Jan. 17.
♦ Redshirt senior Devon Brown, who passed Katie Feenstra for third place on Liberty's career scoring list and seventh place in Big South history following Thursday's win vs. Winthrop with 1,856 points, leads the Lady Flames in scoring at 16.6 points per game (third-best average in the league).
♦ Tolu Omotola is another player to keep an eye on as she averages 13.4 ppg (ranks ninth in Big South) and 7.8 rpg (ranks seventh in conference).
♦ Liberty leads the league in scoring offense (72.7) and scoring defense (56.0), while establishing a Big South-best +17.4 rebounding margin.
♦ Last March, Liberty captured its 14th Big South title in the last 16 seasons, posting a come-from-behind victory (81-73) in the championship against No. 2 seed High Point on the Panthers' home court.

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 12.5 per contest (11th-best in conference), while Victoria Hamilton crashes the boards for a team-best 8.2 rebounds per outing (ranks fifth in the league). Buckhannon (2.52) and Hamilton (2.22) rank third and eighth, respectively, in the Big South in steals. Buckhannon became the 20th member of Radford women's basketball's 1,000-point club against Campbell last Thursday.
♦ The Highlanders are efficient with their trips to the charity stripe, converting 72.1 percent of their attempts, which ranks third in the Big South.
♦ At 11.13 steals per game, Radford ranks second in the league, while topping the Big South in turnover margin (+2.65).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ In addition to leading the all-time series 34-24, the Lady Flames have dominated Radford as of late, winning 12 of the previous 13 meetings. However, the last win for Highlanders in the series came at the Vines Center two seasons ago, 62-53.

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ The Highlanders leave the Commonwealth for Rock Hill, S.C. and a Feb. 23 matchup with the Winthrop Eagles inside Winthrop Coliseum at 1:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ Behind Victoria Hamilton's third double-double of the season and a late surge in the second half, Radford women's basketball was able to return to the winner's circle with a 60-46 triumph over Longwood Thursday night at Willett Hall.
♦ By dropping in 14 points and scooping up 12 rebounds, Hamilton collected her fifth career double-double for the Highlanders. Ashley Buckhannon tallied 13 points, including 10 in the final 20 minutes. La-She' Walker came up big in the post, pouring in a career-high nine points in addition to six rebounds.
♦ Along with Walker, Sarah Tabb and Jordynn Gaymon narrowly missed double-figure scoring as well, contributing nine points apiece. In addition to 38.9 percent shooting, Radford out-rebounded the Lancers 46-34 and held a 28-16 edge in points scored in the paint. Of the 21 field goals scored by the Highlanders, 14 were off of assists.
♦ Longwood received three double-digit scoring efforts, led by Chelsea Coward's double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds). Mieke Elkington and Crystal Smith chalked up 10 points each for the hosts, who forced RU into 16 turnovers. Finishing with 26.8 percent accuracy from the floor, the Lancers became the second opponent Radford held under 30 percent shooting this season.
♦ Gaymon led the Highlanders in the first frame with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, while the visitors connected on 40 percent of their shots. Radford led by as many as six points in the opening half of action before going into break on top, 27-25.
♦ After the Lancers opened with a bucket to cut their deficit to two, Walker and Hamilton combined for a 6-0 run to push Radford ahead, 33-25, less than four minutes into the second stanza. Seeing their lead dwindle to 43-40 at the 8:36 mark, the Highlanders responded with an 11-0 run over the next three minutes for a 54-40 advantage with 5:28 showing on the clock.
♦ That run, combined with efficient free-throw shooting, proved to be enough down the stretch to snap a three-game skid for the Highlanders in the all-time series and on the season.

LAST MEETING WITH LIBERTY

♦ For the second straight game, a late rally by the opposing side caused the Radford women's basketball team to fall as Liberty escaped the Dedmon Center with a 67-65 Big South nail-biting victory on Dec. 1.
♦ Da'Naria Erwin Spencer led the Highlanders with a season-high 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Ashley Buckhannon (9), Sarah Tabb (8) and Ayana Avery (8) also neared double-digit scoring.
♦ The Lady Flames were led by reigning Big South Player of the Week, Devon Brown, who put up a game-high 28 points to go along with eight rebounds. Jasmine Gardner contributed a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds), while Tolu Omotola tallied eight points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
♦ Radford outshot the visitors, 43.5 percent to 33.9 percent, and won the turnover battle, 10-17. RU converted those 17 turnovers into 26 points. The Highlanders went to its bench to score 21 points, compared to just 12 from Liberty's reserves.
♦ However, what Liberty is known for is rebounding and the Lady Flames did some damage on the boards, snaring 50 compared to the Highlanders' 32. The visitors turned those second-chance opportunities into 18 points.

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