RADFORD PREPARES FOR SEMIFINAL SATURDAY VS. LIBERTY

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Two of the Big South's most storied women's basketball programs are set to collide in the semifinals of the 2016 Big South Women's Basketball Championship Saturday at 4 p.m. inside Kimmel Arena in Asheville, N.C. Twenty-five of the 29 Big South tournament championships belong to these two programs—with the Highlanders claiming nine of them.

SETTING THE STAGE
- Series: Liberty leads, 41-24
- Location: Kimmel Arena (Asheville, N.C.)
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Live Stats
- ESPN3
- Live Audio
- Game Notes (Radford | Liberty)
- Game Day Central

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
Winners of five in a row and eight of its last 10, Radford (18-12) is playing as well as anyone in the Big South. This point was proven Friday night in the quarterfinal round when the Highlanders overcame a 15-point deficit for the second time in the last month to dispatch High Point (72-57) and advance to the semifinals for the 19^th time in program history.

Radford, which is the No. 3 seed for the sixth time in program history, has posted an 8-3 record when slotted third. In addition, two of Radford's last three Big South tournament championships have come as the No. 3 seed. RU will be aiming to snap an 11-game losing skid to the Lady Flames, who have not been beaten by their New River Valley foes since Jan. 17, 2011 in Lynchburg.

Mike McGuire, who is in his third season as head coach, will be aiming to guide Radford to its first Big South tournament title game since 2008. He picked up his first postseason victory as the Highlanders' head coach in Friday's come-from-behind win over High Point.

Jayda Worthy tied her career high of 19 points, which included 13 in the second half. RU utilized a 35-4 run to turn a 35-20 deficit into a 55-39 lead with 50 ticks left in the third stanza. The sophomore paced four Highlanders in double-figure scoring.

Defense has been the staple of the Highlanders' success. Entering the conference tournament, RU ranked sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.335) and 16^th in scoring defense (53.2).

Janayla White, an All-Big South first team member, is the only player in the conference to average a double-double. She leads the league in field-goal percentage (.574) and rebounding (10.0).

In addition to White, Lydia Rivers is a major factor in the Highlanders' rebounding. The post tandem ranks first and fifth, respectively, among Big South players in rebounding. Radford is the only team to have two of its players in the top five of the league. Rivers, who ranks second among Big South freshmen in rebounding, was named to the Big South all-freshman team.

White, who recorded the 100^th block of her career earlier this season, notched another career milestone on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Virginia Beach, Va., native pulled down 10 rebounds to become the 19^th member of the 500-rebound club. In addition, White became one of just five players in program history to have 100 career blocks and 500 career rebounds.

TOURNEY TIME
RU is seeking to advance to the championship game for the first time since 2008. Radford is 12-6 all-time in the semifinal round, but hasn't advanced this far in the tournament since 2013. Meanwhile, Liberty is making its 20^th consecutive appearance in the conference semifinals. Radford owns a 2-1 edge in semifinal meetings against the Lady Flames.

With a victory Saturday, the Highlanders would pull within one game of returning to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in program history.

Either Radford or Liberty has appeared in 28 of the first 29 Big South Championship title games in conference history, and that trend is guaranteed to continue this season. However, 2008 marked the only time the Highlanders and the Lady Flames have faced each other in the championship game. Of Liberty's eight all-time losses in the conference tournament, three have come against RU.

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the Highlanders' last Big South tournament title (1996). They have reached the championship game twice since then (2007 and 2008). Ironically, both games were in Asheville, N.C.

Kimmel Arena is playing host to the Big South Women's Basketball Championship for the first time. When the Highlanders made it all the way to the final in 2007 and 2008, those games were played at UNC Asheville's Justice Center.

TOURNAMENT RESUME
- As the No. 3 seed: 8-3
- Record in quarterfinals: 14-10
- Record in semifinals: 12-6
- Record in championship game: 9-3
- Record in tournament opener: 19-11
- Record as higher seed: 25-9
- Record as lower seed: 11-11
- Record in Asheville: 8-5
- Championships won (last): 9 (1996)
- Championships won in Asheville (last): 1 (1990)

UP NEXT
Saturday's semifinal winner between No. 2 Liberty and No. 3 Radford will advance to Sunday's championship game at 2 p.m. against the victor between No. 1 UNC Asheville and No. 5 Presbyterian.

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