Women’s Lacrosse Faces Furman in Return to Big South Tournament

RADFORD, Va. – For the first time since 2021, the Radford Highlanders women's lacrosse team has qualified for the postseason. Earning the No. 5 seed, the Highlanders travel to No. 4 Furman in the first round of the Big South Tournament, with first draw set for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Furman Paladins (9-8, 5-3 BSC)
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 28th at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Paladin Stadium, Greenville, S.C.

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KEY STORYLINES
How the Highs Got it Done: After getting off to a slow start, Radford picked up three key wins in conference play to punch their ticket to the postseason. They took down Presbyterian for their first conference win on April 4 (13-10) and followed that up with a 10-6 triumph over Gardner-Webb the following Saturday. They officially locked themselves in with a 9-8 win at Longwood this past Wednesday, with late heroics from Maddy Driscoll and Maggie Wisniewski to score the game-winning goal in the final 15 seconds.

Super Seniors: Mady Cheney and Evie Gee have turned in super seasons to conclude their careers at Radford. Cheney leads the team in multiple categories including goals (29), free position goals (7), and draw controls (50). She also holds the Radford career record with 132 ground balls and ranks among all-time program leaders in draw controls (2^nd, 226), shots (2^nd, 290), caused turnovers (T-3^rd, 62), goals (4^th, 120), goals per game (5^th, 1.79), and points (6^th, 134). Gee has also shined in her final season while ranking second on the team in goals (27), assists (14), and points (41). She also ranks fifth on the career list with 34 assists.

Flippo is Forcing Turnovers: Defender Sam Flippo has proven to be a fantastic addition for the Highlanders. The transfer from High Point has caused 50 turnovers this season, absolutely smashing the previous single-season record of 40 set by Katie Bendrick in 2021. She became the first Highlander to win back-to-back conference weekly awards earlier this month, taking Defender of the Week on April 7 and 14. Flippo leads the conference in caused turnovers and ranks seventh in all of Division I with 2.94 caused turnovers per game. Her 2.71 ground balls per game also is fourth most in the conference.

Welcome Back: Junior Alyssa Yost has been a key contributor as of late, returning from injury to play significant minutes in each of the past three games. She scored her first goal at Longwood that helped jumpstart the fourth quarter comeback while also winning four draw controls. Yost added a hat trick against Wofford this past Saturday.

What Can Driscoll Do For You?: Maddy Driscoll had a game to remember vs. Wofford, scoring two goals with five assists to account for seven of Radford's 13 goals against the Terriers. The junior from New York state leads the team with 44 points and 28 assists. Her assist total this season is the third-most in program history. Driscoll has added either a goal or assist in 13 of 17 games.

Awesome Ava: Ava LaManna made a dozen saves to keep things close vs. Wofford on Saturday. It was her fifth game this season where she made at least 12 saves. The junior ranks third in the conference in saves per game (8.50) and seventh with a .416 save percentage. Playing in 42 games across three seasons, her 354 saves rank second on the Radford all-time list, trailing Olivia Hunter (2021-24) by 17 saves.

Furman File: The Highlanders are looking for their first win against the Paladins, going 0-5 all-time since Furman joined the Big South in 2022. They fell 17-9 to the Paladins to start conference play back on March 28 in Greenville, their closest loss at Furman since a 12-6 defeat in 2022. Furman has won two straight at Winthrop (16-13) and at Gardner-Webb (13-9). They have yet to win a home game since defeating Radford on March 28, going 0-3 at Paladin Stadium the rest of the regular season.

Breaking the Streak: This year's team broke a four-season drought of not making the Big South Tournament. The 2021 squad won their first game, a semifinal match at No. 2 seed Campbell, 15-14, before ultimately losing to High Point, 20-7 in the championship game.

Follow Women's Lacrosse on Social Media
For more information on the Radford women's lacrosse team, follow @RadfordWLAX on X and Instagram or Radford Lacrosse on Facebook.
#WantItMore | #RiseAndDefend

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Players Mentioned

#11 Mady Cheney: Midfield; 5' 6"; Senior

#23 Maddy Driscoll: Attack; 5' 5"; Junior

#6 Evie Gee: Attack; 5' 7"; Senior

#15 Ava LaManna: Goalkeeper; 5' 7"; Junior

#14 Maggie Wisniewski: Midfield; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#18 Alyssa Yost: Attack; 5' 8"; Junior

#3 Sam Flippo: Defense; 5' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#11 Mady Cheney
: 5' 6"; Senior
: Midfield

#23 Maddy Driscoll
: 5' 5"; Junior
: Attack

#6 Evie Gee
: 5' 7"; Senior
: Attack

#15 Ava LaManna
: 5' 7"; Junior
: Goalkeeper

#14 Maggie Wisniewski
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: Midfield

#18 Alyssa Yost
: 5' 8"; Junior
: Attack

#3 Sam Flippo
: 5' 8"; Junior
: Defense

Radford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned