WOMEN’S BASKETBALL LOOKS TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON ON HIGH NOTE

Feb. 28, 2015 :: 4:00 p.m.
Millis Center (1,750) :: High Point, N.C.
Video: Big South Network
Radio: Radford Sports Network
Live Stats: Link

RADFORD, Va. – Radford, which has won 14 of its last 17 games, will travel to High Point, N.C., for Saturday's 4 p.m. Big South women's basketball showdown with the Panthers inside the Millis Center. The Highlanders will look to play the role of spoiler as High Point is set to honor its five seniors prior to tipoff.

RADFORD ROUNDUP
RU (17-11, 14-5 Big South) can lock up the No. 2 seed for next week's Big South women's basketball tournament with a win Saturday. It would mark the first time since 2006-07, the Highlanders finished alone in second place in the final Big South regular-season standings.

Based on its No. 9 preseason ranking in the conference standings, if Radford finishes second, it would mark a league-record seven-spot improvement from the preseason poll to the final poll.

Ayana Avery and Aisha Foy both average double-figure scoring for RU at 10.5 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. The duo accounts for 76 percent (111-146) of the Highlanders' 3-pointers made. Avery leads the Big South with her 2.5 triples per contest and ranks fourth all-time in league history in career 3-pointers made (257).

Over in the rebounding department, Jordynn Gaymon and Janayla White both pull down 7.3 caroms per contest. Their average ranks ninth in the conference. Gaymon is only six rebounds away from becoming the 18^th Highlander to reach 500 career rebounds. On top of her rebounding, White ranks third in the Big South in blocks per game, rejecting 1.9 shots per outing.

Paced by Foy's .394 clip from long range, Radford tops the Big South in 3-point field goal percentage (.345). Foy and Avery rank first and second, respectively, in 3-point shooting among Big South players.

SCOUTING HIGH POINT
The Panthers (17-11, 13-6 Big South) are in a two-way tie with Campbell for third place in the conference standings. HPU can finish no higher than the No. 3 seed.

Like Radford's last opponent (UNC Asheville), High Point is one of the more experienced teams in the conference. The Panthers returned eight players (all five starters) off their 2013-14 squad that finished with 22 wins, the most for the program since joining Division I in 1999.

High Point won the 2013-14 Big South regular-season title and advanced to the tournament championship before falling to Winthrop. HPU qualified for the WNIT, losing to Bowling Green in the first round, 72-62.

After suffering five losses in an eight-game stretch, the Panthers have won two in a row. They are coming off a resounding 74-58 road victory over Gardner-Webb.

High Point's offense is centered around the dynamic duo of Stacia Robertson and Kaylah Keys. Robertson and Keys average 15.6 and 13.5 points per game, respectively.

Robertson ranks third in scoring, second in rebounding (10.4), first in field goal percentage (.568), second in blocks per game (3.3) and third in steals per game (2.4) among Big South players. The 6-foot-2 forward is just one of two players in the league to average a double-double.

Keys, the Big South Freshman of the Year last season, is one of the top threats from 3-point land in the Big South. The sophomore guard averages two 3-pointers per game and shoots 32 percent from long range.

As a team, High Point leads the conference in shooting percentage (.416). In addition, the Panthers like to push the pace as they rank second in the Big South in scoring (69.2).

UP NEXT
Radford opens postseason play Thursday, March 5 in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Big South Women's Basketball Championship. The Highlanders, who are assured of at least the No. 3 seed, will either play at 6 p.m. or 8 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Ayana Avery: G; 5' 5"; Senior

#3 Aisha Foy: G; 5' 6"; Junior

#24 Jordynn Gaymon: F; 6' 1"; Senior

#21 Janayla White: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#5 Ayana Avery
: 5' 5"; Senior
: G

#3 Aisha Foy
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

#24 Jordynn Gaymon
: 6' 1"; Senior
: F

#21 Janayla White
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F