RADFORD, LIBERTY SQUARE OFF ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

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RADFORD, Va. – Radford heads to Lynchburg, Va., for Sunday's Big South women's basketball clash with Liberty. The Highlanders will be in search of their first victory inside the Vines Center since Jan. 17, 2011. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

SETTING THE STAGE
- Series: Liberty leads, 40-24
- Location: Vines Center (Lynchburg, Va.)
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Live Stats
- American Sports Network
- Live Audio
- Game Notes (Radford | Liberty)
- Game Day Central

LAST MEETING
Despite Lydia Rivers' first career double-double, Radford was unable to overcome a poor free-throw shooting performance in a 49-43 setback to Liberty on Jan. 2 inside the Dedmon Center.

Rivers contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds in the loss, which snapped the Highlanders' 13-game home winning streak. RU fought its way back to tie the score at 39 with fewer than four minutes to play. However, the Flames went on to outscore Radford, 10-4, the rest of the way.

Three-point shooting was a deciding factor in the first meeting of the season. Liberty torched the nets behind its 42.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, RU only connected on 1 of 10 from long range—its lowest of the season.

Radford held the Flames to 28 rebounds—their lowest of the season. The Highlanders' +9 rebounding margin marked the second straight year RU outrebounded Liberty inside the Dedmon Center.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
Radford (11-10, 7-5 Big South) snapped its three-game losing skid Monday with a 49-36 win at Coastal Carolina. Aisha Foy led the Highlanders in scoring with 15 points.

Defense and rebounding continue to be exceptional areas for RU. Over the last five games, the Highlanders are only allowing opponents to average 50.8 points per game, while shooting 31.5 percent from the floor. Their 33.7 field-goal percentage defense leads the Big South and ranks eighth nationally. In addition, RU tops the Big South and ranks 13^th nationally in rebounding margin (+10).

Of Radford's 10 losses, only one has been by double digits (15 at NC State). The Highlanders are only losing by an average of 6.4 points per game. That average drops to 5.0 points per game in their five league setbacks.

Foy leads the Highlanders in the scoring column, averaging 13.2 points per game, which rank ninth among Big South players. The Virginia Beach, Va., native ranks fourth in the conference with her 36.2 percent accuracy from 3-point range. She ranks fifth all-time in program history for 3-pointers made in a career (125).

Janayla White joins Foy in double-figure scoring at 11.6 points per game. White recorded her second 20-plus rebound performance of the season when she reeled in 21 at Coastal Carolina.

Behind her 10.8 rebounding average, which leads the league, White is the only Big South women's basketball player to average a double-double. She has accumulated 102 rebounds over her past six games for a 17 rebounds per game average. The sophomore is on pace to post a top-five single-season mark in rebounding by the end of the 2015-16 campaign.

White ranks second in the conference in blocks per game (2.2). She ranks fifth all-time in career blocks in program history with 95. White also leads the Big South in field-goal percentage (.570).

SCOUTING LIBERTY
Winners of six straight contests, the Flames (13-8, 10-2 Big South) are trending in the right direction as they aim for their second straight Big South regular-season championship.

Their hopes of winning the regular season were bolstered by the return of Big South Preseason Player of the Year Ashley Rininger two games ago. She had been out with a knee injury suffered in the Dec. 17 game at Duke.

Liberty, who is tied for first place in the conference standings with UNC Asheville, will be a challenge to topple at home. The Flames have not lost to a Big South opponent inside the Vines Center since Jan. 30, 2014 (19 straight wins). However, Radford's last win in the head-to-head series came in Lynchburg (Jan. 17, 2011).

With their victory at Charleston Southern on Monday, the Flames reached 10 wins in the Big South for the 17^th straight season. The Buccaneers gave Liberty all it could handle, though. CSU and the Flames were tied at 44 with eight minutes to go in regulation.

Rininger leads three Liberty players in double-figure scoring at 12.6 points per game. Mickayla Sanders and Sadalia Ellis average 10.6 and 10.2 points per game, respectively.

Sanders was a key reason the Flames were able to escape the Dedmon Center with a win earlier this season. The junior dialed up a game-high 21 points, including 19 in the second half. Sanders has been a thorn in the Highlanders' side. In Sanders' four games against Radford, she averages 15.8 points per game and has topped the 20-point plateau twice.

Like RU, the Flames are a strong rebounding team. They are right behind the Highlanders in rebounding margin at +8.5. The bulk of Liberty's rebounding comes from its "Big Three" in Rininger, Katelyn Adams and Catherine Kearney. The trio accounts for 46.2 percent of the Flames' boards.

A player to keep an eye on is Brooke Alexander, who broke into Liberty's starting lineup recently. The freshman guard from Frisco, Texas, has started the previous six games at the No. 2 position. She delivered a season-high 11 points vs. Gardner-Webb on Jan. 26.

UP NEXT
Radford has a quick turnaround as Gardner-Webb visits the Dedmon Center for Tuesday's 7 p.m. tipoff. The Runnin' Bulldogs edged RU, 54-50, on Jan. 23 in Boiling Springs, N.C.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#20 Lydia Rivers: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

#20 Lydia Rivers
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F

Players Mentioned

#3 Aisha Foy

#21 Janayla White

#20 Lydia Rivers

Players Mentioned

#3 Aisha Foy

#21 Janayla White

#20 Lydia Rivers