RADFORD HOSTS CAMPBELL THURSDAY IN BIG SOUTH DUEL

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RADFORD, Va. – Less than two weeks removed from suffering a 83-77 setback in overtime to Campbell, the Radford women's basketball team will seek revenge when the Lady Camels visit the Dedmon Center for a Thursday clash at 7:00 p.m.

MEET THE LADY CAMELS

♦ Thursday's contest features the top-2 squads in the league in steals. RU leads the Big South at 11.8 thefts a game, while Campbell is right behind at 11.5 steals an outing.
♦ Offensively, the Lady Camels rank third in the conference in scoring at 67.5 points per game. On the defensive side of the ball, CU is sixth by allowing 62.5 points an outing.
♦ Averaging 4.8 3-pointers per game, the Lady Camels rank fifth in the Big South. They top the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 37.6.
♦ Tonisha Baker puts up 14.3 points a contest, which leads CU and is the eighth-best scoring average in the BSC. Baker has the fifth-best field goal percentage in the league (47.0). Kiera Gaines drops in 11.2 a game to rank 14th in the Big South, while leading the Lady Camels in rebounding at 7.7 each time out (seventh in BSC).
♦ Campbell posted a 62-51 victory against Longwood on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 1,883 at Gore Arena. Sophomore guard Kiera Gaines registered her fifth double-double of the campaign with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while senior guard Tonisha Baker dished out eight assists and scored 18 points in the contest.

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 12 per contest (12th-best in conference), while Victoria Hamilton crashes the boards for a team-best 7.9 rebounds per outing (ranks sixth in the league). Buckhannon (2.6) and Hamilton (2.4) rank third and sixth, respectively, in the Big South in steals. Buckhannon is only one point 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 percent of their attempts, which ranks third in the Big South.
♦ At 11.8 steals per game, Radford ranks first in the league, while also topping the Big South in turnover margin (+3.4).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ In addition to holding a 19-8 advantage in the all-time series, Radford has a decisive edge in contests against the Lady Camels when the Highlanders are the host squad (12-2).

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ The Highlanders are back on the Dedmon Center court Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff with High Point. The contest with the Panthers has been designated as the Play 4Kay game.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ Despite leading for almost the entire game, Radford was unable to answer a late surge by Coastal Carolina as the Highlanders dropped a 52-51 Big South decision Saturday evening in women's basketball action from The HTC Center.
♦ Ashley Buckhannon connected on 1-of-2 free throws at the 4:54 mark to build a seven-point (45-38) advantage for Radford (12-8, 7-4 Big South). However, the Highlanders would only get a Victoria Hamilton gliding jumper to fall over the next four minutes as Coastal Carolina (10-12, 5-7 Big South) was able to generate a 13-2 rally and capture a 51-47 edge with 22 seconds to go.
♦ On Radford's ensuing possession, Ayana Avery dialed up a long 3-pointer from the near wing to pull the visitors within one, 51-50, with 17 seconds showing on the clock. After two timeouts, the Chants' Angelica Henry converted 1-of-2 free throws to set the score at 52-50 with nine seconds remaining.
♦ Out of another timeout, Breshara Gordon collected the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court and drew a foul with three seconds to go. Gordon stepped to the line and knocked down the first.
♦ With the second charity toss a little strong, Da'Naria Erwin Spencer was able to track down the loose ball and find Buckhannon at the top of the key. The senior sharpshooter drilled the trifecta at the buzzer, but after checking the monitor the referees waved the shot off.
♦ Leading 29-26 at the break, Radford shot 33.9 percent from the floor for the game, while the Chants had 35.1 percent efficiency. Even though the Highlanders had a 16-6 edge in points off turnovers, Coastal made RU pay with second-chance opportunities—CCU had a 16-8 advantage.

LAST MEETING WITH CAMPBELL

♦ 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.
♦ 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).
♦ Trailing 69-65 with one minute remaining, Tabb calmly stepped to the line and converted two charity tosses to draw within two once more. After RU dodged two Campbell attempts to put the game away, Erwin Spencer pulled down the defensive board, weaved through traffic and knocked down the pull-up jumper in the paint to send the Highlanders into their second overtime outing of the season.
♦ Erwin Spencer picked up right where she left off in regulation by burying a deuce less than 40 seconds into overtime that vaulted RU in front for the final time of the night, 71-69. From there, Campbell used its rebounding edge to convert second-chance opportunities to hold off the Highlanders down the stretch.

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