RADFORD, Va. - The Highlanders will seek out their fifth season series sweep on Tuesday night against the Spartans of USC Upstate at 6:00 p.m. in the Dedmon Center. Radford will also be looking to get back in the win column after falling to High Point just a few days ago.

The Highlanders fell in the waning moments to the Panthers on Saturday afternoon. High Point sealed the season series with this 64-63 win over Radford in the Dedmon Center. The Panthers took control early, scoring on a layup within the first 10 seconds of the fourth. They followed that basket with a three-ball and another layup to take a 50-49 lead over the Highlanders. Having seen enough Bryonna McClean took matters into her own hands and drained her signature pull-up jumper in the paint, to reverse the lead in favor of her team on the and-one play. The teams would go point-for-point down to the final seconds of the game where a layup from Aiden Rainford put the game at 62-61, Radford. High Point's next baskets put them ahead of the home team by two with only 17 seconds left to play. After a Highlander timeout, Amele Ngwafang's offensive rebound sent her to the free throw line with only three seconds left on the clock. The split trip saw the first free throw drop but the second rimmed out into the hands of Rainford who was unable to get a decent look at the basket as her shot was just off the mark. 
 
Ngwafang notched her fifth career double-double today with 14 points and 12 rebounds. She played 29 minutes and made her way to the free throw line 19 times, a career high. 
 
This game had seven ties and 12 different lead changes, with Radford's biggest margin being 10 points to High Point's five points.

The last time the Highlanders faced the Spartans, Radford's (7-10, 5-3 Big South) first quarter dominance set the tone for the game at USC Upstate (6-12, 1-8 Big South). The Highlanders 57-41 victory over the Spartans, is their third consecutive Big South Conference win and longest streak of the season so far. With only 13 seconds off the game clock, Khiana Johnson wasted no time in getting Radford on the board with a jumper. The Highlanders proceeded to mount a 15-0 run before a Spartan jumper broke the streak around the two-minute mark. Johnson closed out the quarter with the final three points, with Radford ahead 18-2.

Sydney Nunley ended the game with her third double-double in three-games. She tallied 15 points and 14 rebounds. She added a pair of assists, a block, two steals while shooting 50 percent from the floor and charity stripe through 33 minutes. This is her fifth double-double on the year and 17th of her career.

A Radford win would put the Highlanders back in the win column after Saturday's loss to High Point and give Radford their fifth season series sweep. A Radford loss would give USC Upstate the season series split and snap the Spartan's two-game losing streak. 

In NCAA DI women's basketball, Radford as a team cracks the top-100 in fewest fouls at 60th fewest fouls, 50th in field-goal percentage defense, 96th personal fouls per game, 66th in rebound margin, 80th in rebounds per game, and 44th in scoring defense. Johnson is ranked 89in in assists and 78th in assists per game.  Ngwafang is ranked 57th in free throw attempts, 135th in free throws made, and 169th in rebounds per game.  Nunley is 158th in rebounds per game. Makaila Wilson is ranked 250th in three-point field goals per game. 

In the Big South, Johnson is 13th in scoring, fourth in assists, and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio. Nunley sits at 18th for scoring, second in field goal percentage, second in rebounding, seventh in blocked shots, ninth in offensive rebounds, and third in defensive rebounds. Ngwafang is third in rebounding, fourth in assists, 30th in scoring, 13th in free throw percentage, 15th in blocked shots, second in offensive rebounds, and 12th in defensive rebounds.  Rainford is tied for 16th in rebounding and 10th in offensive rebounds. Wilson is fourth in three-point field goal percentage and tied for eighth in field goals made. 

Since their first game against Radford, USC Upstate has played seven contest. The Spartans have gone 2-5 in that time frame, including a double overtime heart-breaker to Campbell back on Feb. 1st, 72-80. Most recently, Upstate took on UNC Asheville and fell 53-45. The Spartans outshot the Bulldogs and Brianna Lewis and Kathryn Kirkwood both scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough to finish the job. UNC Asheville opened the game on a 7-0 run, but once Jada Logan got Upstate on the board midway through the opening frame, the Spartans used a 9-3 run to get back within one point of the Bulldogs at 10-9 to end the first quarter. The Bulldogs would open the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run that the Spartans ultimately could not recover from. Herring hit an and-1 with a minute and a half left in regulation and Lewis hit a layup in the final second, but Upstate fell 53-45. Lewis posted a team-high 15 points and Kirkwood led the bench with 12 in the loss. Lewis also had eight assists while Gibbons posted three blocks as she and Herring each finished with six rebounds

UP NEXT
Radford mount a two-game road stretch, beginning at Winthrop on Saturday, Feb. 29th at 2:00 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C. on ESPN+.

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