Women's Basketball 3/5/2013 8:00:00 AM

WOMEN’S HOOPS MEETS UNC ASHEVILLE IN FIRST ROUND

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RADFORD, Va. – Due to Big South scheduling, Radford and UNC Asheville only had the privilege of hooking up once during the regular season. That will all change when the Highlanders and the Bulldogs clash in the first round of the 2013 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Women's Basketball Tournament Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. inside The HTC Center.

MEET THE BULLDOGS

♦ UNC Asheville will look to snap a 20-game skid when it locks up with the Highlanders Wednesday.
♦ The lone victories of the season recorded by UNCA were against Montreat College and Columbia College.
♦ Kelli Riles is the lone Bulldog averaging in double figures at 10.7 points per game. Her scoring average ranks 20th in the Big South.
♦ Riles also leads UNCA in rebounding at 9.7 caroms per outing, which ranks third in the league. The senior has the sixth-best free-throw percentage in the conference at 78.2.
♦ Asheville enters Wednesday's tilt averaging 51.0 points per contest, while giving up 66.6 points per outing to its opponents.
♦ The Bulldogs' 34.2 field-goal percentage ranks last in the conference, as does their field-goal percentage defense (43.4).

HIGHLANDER HAPPENINGS

♦ Radford is led by Ashley Buckhannon in the scoring column at 13.3 per contest (10th-best in conference), while Victoria Hamilton crashes the boards for a team-best eight rebounds per outing (ranks sixth in the league). Buckhannon (2.81) and Hamilton (2.15) rank second and 11th, 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.
♦ Jordynn Gaymon has the 10th-best average in the blocks department of the Big South at 1.13 rejections a contest.
♦ At 10.96 steals per game, Radford ranks second in the league, in addition to ranking second in turnover margin (+2.41).

SERIES HISTORY

♦ RU leads the all-time series 44-17 after taking the last three outings with the Bulldogs, including a 66-54 decision inside the Dedmon Center earlier this year. The Highlanders have met UNCA eight times in the conference tournament, posting a 5-3 mark. The last time these two teams met in the postseason was March 14, 2008 when Radford outlasted the Bulldogs, 72-64, in double overtime in Asheville. A year prior to that matchup, the Highlanders and UNCA battled for the tournament title where the Bulldogs went on to win and advance to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

WHAT'S NEXT

♦ The winner between RU and the Bulldogs will move on to the quarterfinals where third-seeded Presbyterian College will be waiting.

LAST TIME OUT

♦ Many fans came to the Dedmon Center knowing it was Senior Day. What they did not know was Radford was prepared to host a block party as the Highlanders totaled a season-best 10 rejections to highlight stellar defensive play that fueled them to the 70-64 triumph over Gardner-Webb in Big South women's basketball action Saturday afternoon.
♦ Making her last time in the Dedmon Center one to remember was Ashley Buckhannon, who dropped in a season-high 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting and was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe to lead the Highlanders. Ranked second in the conference in steals per game (2.69), the Wytheville, Va. native collected a career-high-tying six thefts on the day.
♦ Fellow backcourt mate Victoria Hamilton finished off the regular season with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with a career-high-tying six assists and five rebounds. The day did not belong all to the seniors as freshman Aisha Foy stole some of the spotlight by drilling three 3-pointers for nine points. Diani Mason also represented the rookie class well with eight points, two assists and two steals.
♦ Overcoming its shooting slump from Thursday, Radford connected on 24-of-57 (42.1 percent). In addition to its block total, Radford exchanged 22 Runnin' Bulldog turnovers into 29 points. The Highlanders' bench was phenomenal as well, outscoring the opposition 23-9.
♦ Gardner-Webb was able to remain in striking distance, however, with advantages in points in the paint (34-20) and second-chance scores (22-9), thanks to a 53-31 edge on the boards.
♦ Playing a large part in those decisive margins was Catrina Green, who finished with a career-high 23 points and 14 rebounds to record her 10th double-double of the season. Candace Brown also crossed into double digits with 18 points, in addition to 10 rebounds.

LAST MEETING WITH UNC ASHEVILLE

♦ Radford utilized strong bench play and fended off a second-half comeback by UNC Asheville to prevail, 66-54, in Big South women's basketball action Jan. 3 inside the Dedmon Center.
♦ Ayana Avery and Ashley Buckhannon poured in double-figure efforts for the Highlanders with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Diani Mason and Sarah Tabb contributed nine points each.
♦ Kelli Riles knocked down 7-of-9 from the hardwood, in addition to a 6-for-6 performance from the charity stripe, on her way to game highs in points (20) and rebounds (10) for the Bulldogs. Riles became Asheville's all-time Division I leader in rebounding during the contest and now has 899 for her career.
♦ Shonese Jones and Brittany Gwyn registered 19 and 11 points, respectively, to round out three Bulldogs in double-figure scoring.
♦ The visitors finished with a 42.9-percent rate (18-of-42), while the Highlanders connected on 40.7 percent of their attempts (24-of-59). The Bulldogs also won the battle on the glass, 35-33.
♦ However, Radford got major contributions from the reserves as the squad outscored UNCA's bench, 38-15. The Highlanders also made a living in the paint, outscoring their opponent 34-20. Radford remains unbeaten at 5-0 when winning this category.
♦ Opening the second stanza with a 20-9 surge, the Highlanders built their largest lead at 54-32 with 12:08 to go. UNC Asheville would not go away easily as it was able to trim the Radford lead to 11 (63-52) with 1:54 remaining. Buckhannon scored the next three points for the Highlanders to seal their first Big South win of the season.

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