Women's Basketball 3/15/2019 10:14:00 AM

TOP-SEEDED HIGHLANDERS SET TO HOST NO. 4 UNC ASHEVILLE IN BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS ON FRIDAY EVENING AT DEDMON

SETTING THE SCENE
No. 1 Radford (24-6, 17-1 Big South) vs. No. 4 UNC Asheville (17-13, 11-7 Big South)
Date: Friday, March 15
Where: Radford, Virginia (Dedmon Center)
Time: 6:00 p.m.
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WHAT'S AT STAKE
An automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament will be awarded to the Big South Champion. The top-seeded Highlanders, who have not won the tournament since 1996, will have home court advantage throughout the entire 2019 Big South Tournament. With a victory on Friday evening, Radford would advance to play the #6 Campbell/#7 Charleston Southern winner in the finals at the Dedmon Center on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

HIGHLANDERS SURVIVE & ADVANCE
The top-seeded Highlanders advanced to their fourth consecutive Big South semifinal after defeating the No. 9 seeded Presbyterian Blue Hose, 60-49, in the Big South Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday evening at the Dedmon Center.

Radford red-shirt junior Lydia Rivers was sensational, producing a career and game-high 25 points along with a game-high 14 rebounds and six blocks (career-high). The Kinston, North Carolina native went 5-for-8 from the floor and knocked down a career-best 15-of-18 free throws in 34 minutes of action. The First Team All-Big South selection played all 20 minutes in the second-half and scored 18 points in the stanza, while hitting all ten of her attempts from the line.

Rivers received plenty of help from senior guard/forward Destinee Walker, who produced 17 of her 24 points in the second-half. The Highlanders other First Team All-Conference pick scored 15 points in the fourth quarter as she converted 15-of-16 free throws over the final ten minutes. The Florence, South Carolina native went just 2-for-14 from the floor but swished a career-high 18-of-20 from the charity-stripe. Walker, who set a new program record for free-throw makes in a contest, also hit both of the Highlanders' 3-pointers.

Second Team All-Big South performer Sydney Nunley grabbed 12 caroms and added two rejections.

Radford set a new Big South Tournament record and a program-record in both makes and attempts as they went 38-for-50 (76 percent) from the free-throw line in the contest. The Blue Hose (7-24) went to the line just seven times and converted all of their attempts.

BULLDOGS UPDATE
Despite trailing 22-14 after the opening quarter, UNCA defeated Gardner-Webb, 72-56, in the Big South Quarterfinals on Thursday evening at the Dedmon Center. Nadiria Evans came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points and also added six boards in 22 minutes. Jessica Wall (16 points, 5 assists) and Zip Scott (10 points, 5 rebounds) were also in double-digits…Sonora Dengokl leads the team in scoring at 14.4 ppg…Wall (11.1 ppg.) and Evans (10.1 ppg.) also averaged in double-figures…Brooke Jordan-Brown is grabbing a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game.

THE SERIES
Radford is 53-24 all-time against the Bulldogs. The Highlanders defeated UNCA by a 60-46 margin at the Dedmon Center on January 5. Walker (16 pts, 13 reb), Nunley (10 pts, 15 rebounds) and Johnson (12 pts, 7 assists) were all in double-digits. Rivers did not play in the contest. The Highlanders edged the Bulldogs, 45-44, in their most recent meeting on Feb . 26 in Asheville, NC. Savannah Felgemacher paced the Highlanders with 14 points and 9 boards. Johnson was also in double-digits with 11 points.

HISTORIC SEASON
Radford won a program-record 17 Big South games and the 2018-19 Big South regular season championship, the program's second in the past three years. The team performed extremely well outside of the conference as well, picking up non-conference wins against East Tennessee State, Temple, Virginia and VCU. The Highlanders are currently enjoying a school-record streak of 16 straight victories. The squad is ranked 13th in the country in scoring defense and are seventh in field goal percentage defense. Radford leads the league in seven statistical categories -- scoring defense (55.2), scoring margin (+9.3), field goal defense (34.0 percent), 3FG defense (25.1 percent), rebounds (44.2), rebound margin (+5.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0). The Highlanders finished the 18-game Big South season tops in scoring defense (52.3), scoring margin (+15.1), field goal defense (32.2) and three-point defense (22.8), grabbed a league-best 45.2 rebounds, and finished first with a +8.0 scoring margin.

ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
Four Highlanders earned 2018-2019 Big South All-Conference Team honors, it was announced on Monday evening by the league office. Highlander senior guard/forward Destinee Walker and redshirt-junior forward Lydia Rivers were both selected to the First-Team and redshirt junior center Sydney Nunley and junior guard Khiana Johnson were named to the Second-Team. Radford head coach Mike McGuire was voted by his peers as the Coach of the Year for the second straight season and third time in his career. Redshirt-junior guard Jen Falconer was named to the All-Academic Team.

Walker, who earned her second career honor, has lived up to her pre-season All-Big South First-Team billing with a fine all-around season. The Florence, South Carolina native scored 20 or more point five different times, including a career-high 26 points in the victory at Winthrop. She has been incredibly consistent, reaching double-figures in scoring in 24-of-29 contests. Walker ranks seventh in the conference in scoring (13.9 ppg.), 12^thin rebounding (6.4) and is 13th in 3-point field goals made (1.5). The West Florence graduate has moved into sixth-place all-time at Radford with 1,267 career points… Rivers has enjoyed her finest campaign in a Highlander uniform as she leads the Big South in rebounding (10.2 pg.), which currently positions her at 36th in the country in the category. The Kinston, North Carolina native, who was a pre-season All-Big South Second-Team pick, has a conference-high 13 double-doubles and has reached double-figures in rebounds 15 different times. Rivers is also eleventh in the league in scoring (11.4 ppg.), seventh in blocked shots (1.2 pg.) and seventh in field goal percentage (.474). The Kinston graduate, who has grabbed 16 rebounds three different times this season, is now sixth all-time at Radford with 804 caroms… Nunley has enjoyed a breakout season after receiving a medical red-shirt in 2017-2018. The Lewisburg, West Virginia native is second in the league with 12 double-doubles, including a run of seven games in a row in the first-half of the conference season. Nunley is also second in the conference in rebounding (9.6 pg.) but leads the league in the category at 11.8 per game in Big South play. A three-time Big South Player of the Week selection this season, the Greenbrier East product is also averaging 10.9 points per game (19^thin the conference) and is second on the circuit with 1.6 blocks per game. Nunley delivered a monster game in the home victory against High Point, amassing 22 points (tied career-high) and 20 rebounds (career-high) against the Panthers… Johnson is considered by many to be the glue player on the Highlander roster as she has sparked the team on both ends of the floor in numerous key moments. She ranks 16^thin the league in scoring (11.0 ppg.), fourth in assists (3.8 pg.), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and is fourth in minutes (34.7). The Chesapeake, Virginia native has reached double-figures in scoring 20 times, including a career-best 19 in the victory at Campbell. The Western Branch product had multiple steals ten different times, including three in the victory at VCU. She also handed out a career-high 10 assists in the win at USC Upstate… Falconer is currently pursuing her master's degree in business and owns a sensational 3.88 grade point average. She has started 23 contests this season at the point for Radford. The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania native is second in the Big South in assist/turnover ratio (1.7) in conference games. The Cumberland Valley graduate dished a career-high eight assists in the home win against Longwood.

HIGHLANDER MISCELLANEOUS
The Highlanders have set a new school mark with 39 combined individual double-doubles this season…Radford is shooting 73 percent (118-of-162) from the line in the last five minutes of games this season. They have made 53 more free throws than their opponents in the last five minutes…Johnson has made a team-high 21 field goals and is shooting 48 percent in the final five minutes this season…Walker is a team-best 34-of-42 (81 percent) from the line in the final five minutes…The Highlanders are outscoring their Big South foes by 15 ppg. in games at the Dedmon Center this season…Head Coach Mike McGuire is 107-51 (.677) over the last five seasons after going 7-23 during his first season.

RADFORD IN THE BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT
The Highlanders are 40-23 all-time in the Big South Tournament and have won nine championships in 13 appearances in the "Big Game." Radford last played in the championship game in 2017 but lost to UNC Asheville, 49-48, at the Vines Center on the campus of Liberty. The Highlanders have not won the tournament since 1996, when they defeated Winthrop, 85-83, at the Dedmon Center. Tonight is the fourth straight semifinal appearance for Radford. The Highlanders are 12-2 all-time as the No. 1 seed.

FOLLOW RADFORD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford women's basketball team, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordWBB on Twitter, 'radfordwbb' on Instagram or Radford Women's Basketball on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Jen Falconer: G; 5' 8"; Redshirt Junior

#45 Savannah Felgemacher: F; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior

#4 Khiana Johnson: G; 5' 7"; Junior

#50 Sydney Nunley: C; 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior

#20 Lydia Rivers: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior

#10 Destinee Walker: G/F; 5' 11"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#5 Jen Falconer
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#45 Savannah Felgemacher
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#4 Khiana Johnson
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

#50 Sydney Nunley
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior
: C

#20 Lydia Rivers
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#10 Destinee Walker
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G/F