RADFORD VISITS WINTHROP FOR FINAL ROAD GAME OF REGULAR SEASON

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RADFORD, Va. – Having a week to prepare, the Radford women's basketball team travels to Rock Hill, S.C. for its next matchup against the Winthrop Eagles (17-10, 11-4 Big South) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

MEET THE EAGLES

♦ Winthrop enters Saturday's matchup tied for second place with Presbyterian College at 11-4 in the Big South.
♦ The Eagles' offense ranks second in the league at 68.8 ppg, while their defense allows 64.9 ppg (eighth-best in Big South).
♦ At 42.3 rpg, Winthrop ranks fourth in the conference in rebounding. The squad also ranks fourth in blocks at 3.96 a game.
♦ Winthrop is a threat from beyond the arc, drilling 6.3 3-pointers a game.
♦ Leading the Big South in scoring at 19.2, Dequesha McClanahan is living up to her billing as the preseason player of the year. The junior also know how to share the rock, leading the conference in assists (5.89). She has the third-best free-throw percentage (80.7).
♦ Schaquilla Nunn leads WU in rebounding at 10.3 each time out to rank second in that category.
♦ The Eagles have won 10 of their previous 12 decisions, including a 78-46 triumph over Longwood on Thursday to avenge an earlier loss in the season to the Lancers.

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 12.6 per contest (11th-best in conference), while Victoria Hamilton crashes the boards for a team-best 8.3 rebounds per outing (ranks fifth in the league). Buckhannon (2.54) and Hamilton (2.17) rank third and ninth, respectively, in the Big South in steals. Buckhannon became the 20th member of Radford women's basketball's 1,000-point club against Campbell on Feb. 7.
♦ The Highlanders are efficient with their trips to the charity stripe, converting 71.9 percent of their attempts, which ranks second in the Big South.
♦ At 10.96 steals per game, Radford ranks second in the league, while ranking third in the Big South in turnover margin (+2.25).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ In what is the longest active series in Radford women's basketball history, the Highlanders and the Eagles are set to collide for the 66th time Saturday inside Winthrop Coliseum. Despite leading the all-time series 53-12, RU has dropped six of the previous nine encounters. Nonetheless, the last decision went to the Highlanders, a 62-56 victory in the Big South quarterfinals last season.

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ Radford wraps up regular-season play next week with two home contests. First up is a battle with Presbyterian College on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Highlanders claimed a 49-31 triumph at PC on Jan. 12.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ In a game featuring nine ties and five lead changes, Radford was unable to overcome 20 turnovers as Liberty pulled away in the second half for the 69-60 victory in women's basketball action Saturday evening inside the Vines Center.
♦ Winners of seven straight, the Lady Flames moved to 20-6 overall and 12-2 in conference play. The Highlanders fell to 13-11 on the season, including 8-7 in the Big South.
♦ Tied at 34 less than four minutes into the second stanza, the Lady Flames used a 13-2 run to create an 11-point spread between the two rivals. During this span, RU turned the ball over five times to fall behind, 47-36, with 9:50 remaining in the game.
♦ LaKendra Washington nailed a 3-pointer at the 5:55 mark to give Liberty its largest lead of the day, 60-46. From there, the Highlanders were able to chip away at their deficit. Eventually pulling to within six (64-58) following a Victoria Hamilton tip-in with 46 seconds to go, Radford showed it was not going down without a fight.
♦ The comeback fizzled, however, as the Lady Flames converted 5-of-6 from the stripe in the waning seconds to preserve the win.
♦ Thanks to 52 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes, Liberty finished with a 41.4 percent accuracy for the game. In addition to a 36-24 advantage in points scored in the paint, the Lady Flames had an 18-8 margin in points off turnovers.
♦ Entering Saturday's matchup, Liberty led the Big South in rebounding (48.4) and rebounding margin (+17.4). However, it was the Highlanders who won the battle of the boards (43-36), which led to a 19-10 edge in second-chance points.
♦ Scoring a game-high 16 points was Ashley Buckhannon, who also added a game-high three steals. Hamilton and Sarah Tabb joined Buckhannon in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. In addition to her scoring output, Hamilton reeled in a game-high nine rebounds.
♦ Led by Ashley Rininger's 14 points, the Lady Flames received four double-digit scoring efforts. Devon Brown, Tolu Omotola and Jasmine Gardner all chipped in 13 points for the victors. Emily Frazier handed out a game-high four assists.

LAST MEETING WITH WINTHROP

♦ Winthrop had a furious second half comeback, but Radford women's basketball held on for a 62-56 victory in the Big South Quarterfinals on March 9.
♦ It was the first time since 2008 that the Highlanders advanced to the semifinals. That club also defeated Winthrop in the quarterfinal matchup.
♦ Radford outscored Winthrop 11-4 in the early minutes of the second half and pushed its cushion to as many as 16, 46-30.
♦ However, Winthrop battled back with a 23-4 spurt led by the 2012 Big South Player of the Year DeQuesha McClanahan. During that span, McClanahan drained 14 of those points and the final three gave Winthrop its first lead (53-50) since 3-2 at 18:39 in the first half.
♦ Da'Naria Erwin Spencer swished a 10-foot jumper just outside the paint to tie the game, 54-54 with 2:58 remaining. Ayana Avery then stepped up and hit a deep three-pointer to put Radford back ahead, 57-54 and the Highlanders wouldn't look back.
♦ Victoria Hamilton, who grabbed 9 rebounds, helped Radford seal the win with four key free throws down the stretch.
♦ Radford was led by Erwin Spencer's 19 points and five assists. Avery finished with 13 points and Ashley Buckhannon also chipped in with 11. Avery and Buckhannon each hit three 3-pointers on the night.
♦ Winthrop placed McClanahan in double figures with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-27 shooting. She also dished out four assists. TaQuioia Hammick and Taylor Calvert both hit the double-figure mark in rebounds with 19 and 13, respectively.

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