GAME INFO

Friday, February 12 -- at Radford (Radford, Va.), 2 p.m.
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Saturday, February 13 -- at Radford (Radford, Va.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
 
The High Point University women's basketball team (14-5, 12-2 Big South) continues its long road trip with a pair of games at Radford University (5-8, 5-6 Big South) on Friday (Feb. 12) and Saturday (Feb. 13).
 

Matchup History

• High Point and Radford have met 45 times since the Panthers joined Division I in 1999, with HPU holding a 26-19 advantage in the series.
• The Highlanders were on a four-game winning streak in the series heading into last season before High Point got back on track with a season sweep in 2019-20.
• HPU narrowly took the last game between the two sides, holding on for a 64-63 victory in the Dedmon Center almost a year ago.
• Radford does hold an advantage when playing on its home court, entering the weekend with a slim 11-10 lead in games played at Radford.

 

Across the Bench

• Radford is 5-8 on the season and 5-6 in conference play after having a handful of games affected by the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.
• The Highlanders have won three of their last four and were on a three-game winning streak before they fell in overtime to Winthrop in the second game of their series this past Saturday.
• Radford is very disciplined on defense, entering the weekend having committed the second-fewest fouls in the conference. The Highlanders also show that discipline on offense as they have committed the second-fewest turnovers on the season in the Big South as well.
• This weekend will feature two of the best three-point defenses in not only the conference but also the country, with Radford's 24/3% mark ranking 11th and High Point sitting in seventh at 23.9%.
• Radford doesn't have anyone scoring in double digits but has two players tied for its scoring lead with an average of 9.1 points per game in Tina Lindenfield and Makalia Wilson.
• Three Highlanders grab over five rebounds each contest, led by Bryonna McClean with an average of 5.7 rebounds per game. Right behind McClean is Rachel LaLonde with 5.4 RPG and Taiye Johnson at 5.1 RPG.

 

Panther Notes

Last Time Out

High Point is coming off a weekend sweep at Charleston Southern in which the Panthers won 88-65 (Feb. 5) and 71-54 (Feb. 6). In Friday's 23-point victory, four Panthers scored in double-digits with freshman Claire Wyatt leading the team in scoring for the first time this season with 18 points. Junior Skyler Curran was right behind her with 17 points and picked up her fourth double-double of the season in the game, grabbing 13 rebounds.
 

Player of the Week Sweep

Wyatt and Curran were recognized for their performances, sweeping the Big South weekly awards, being named Freshman of the Week and Player of the Week, respectively. This is the third time Wyatt has won this honor and fourth for a Panther this season. Curran's Player of the Week was HPU's first selection this season and the fifth of the junior's career. 
 

Big Number Bonanza

The Panthers' 88 points in Friday's game were the second-most scored in a game for HPU this season and the most against a Division I opponent on the 2020-21 schedule. It was the 20th time the Purple and White have put up 85+ points in a Big South Conference game while the 23-point margin of victory is tied for the second-largest this season and was the 50th time HPU has beaten a conference opponent by 20 points or more.
 

DECAdent Dishes

Junior Jordan Edwards had a career-high 10 assists on Friday, becoming the first player in the Big South to register double-digit assists in a single game this season. Edwards is the first Panther to accomplish this feat since Camryn Brown dealt out 10 helpers against North Carolina Central last season and enters the weekend in the top-20 in total assists in all of Division I.
 

Double-Digit Delight

Friday's win marked the 50th time Curran has scored in double digits in her career. She enters the weekend with 51 after scoring 13 points on Saturday. 
 

Conquering the Commonwealth

Head coach Chelsea Banbury enters this weekend's match up with a 3-1 record in the state of Virginia after picking up wins at Longwood, Hampton, and Radford a season ago. Her lone loss came early in the season in a non-conference matchup at Norfolk State.
 

The 1K Club

Curran became just the 14th player in HPU's Division I history of women's basketball to join the 1,000-point club and the second in as many years after crossing the milestone earlier this season at Presbyterian (Jan 23.). She enters this weekend with 1,050 points to her name to sit in 11th place on High Point's D1 scoring list, just 8 points away from 10th place. Curran also entered the season in seventh place on HPU's career three-point list and is now in fourth place with 195 to her name.
 

A Better EDucation 

Jordan and Jenson Edwards are both in the top-five in the Big South in three different assist categories. Jordan is leading the conference in both total assists (87) and assists per game (4.8) and second in assist to turnover ratio (2.0). Jenson is third in the conference in assists to turnover ratio (1.9) and is fourth in total assists (73) and is fifth in assists per game (3.8). Nationally, Jordan and Jenson are both in the top-50 in total assists, ranking 13th and 50th, respectively.
 

Raining Buckets

High Point's 19 makes on 47 attempts from beyond the arc against Presbyterian (Jan. 22) were the most makes and attempts from three this season for the Panthers and were the second-most makes and most three-point attempts in HPU's Division I history. Nationally, the 19 makes are tied for the second-most in a single game across all of Division I this season while the 47 attempts are tied for the third-most.
 

Walk the Plank!

HPU went 5-0 against swashbuckling opponents last season, sweeping the conference series with the Hampton Lady Pirates and the Charleston Southern Buccaneers and picking up a non-conference win over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. With this year's sweep of Charleston Southern, the Panthers are now 7-0 against such foes under Banbury. Dating back to her time as a player and assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast, head Banbury is now 22-3 all-time against swashbuckling foes.
 

Went Streaking

High Point made history on Jan. 22 by winning its 10th game in a row, the longest winning streak since the program made the jump to Division I in 1999. At the time of losing it the following day, the streak was tied for the 11th-longest active winning streak in all of Division I women's basketball. The win on the 22nd also marked the fifth consecutive win on the road and the eighth straight conference win away from home - both tying Division I program records.
 

Saturday Scaries

HPU is now 3-2 on Saturdays this season, with both conference losses occurring on the first day of the weekend.
 

Road Warriors

Due to the shuffling of the Big South schedule as a whole as a result of COVID-19 pauses, High Point is playing its third straight series on the road and fourth set of games away from home in its last five series.
 

They're Free for a Reason

HPU went 20-26 from the free-throw line over the two games last weekend, keeping its average at the stripe at 76.7% on the season, the second-highest in the Big South and 25th-best in the country. The Panthers have made a total of 254 shots from the line this season for the conference lead and sit 22nd in D1.
 

SHOOTER!

Jenson Edwards is best in the conference and 18th in the country in three-point percentage, making 44.8% percent of her shots from behind the arc.
 

Thanks, Captain Obvious

While it may seem obvious that you're more likely to win when you shoot better than the other team, High Point has yet to lose a game when it finishes with a better shooting percentage than its opponent. The Panthers are 14-0 when outshooting their opponents and are 0-5 when the opponent fills it up better than HPU.
 

Letting it Fly...

After breaking the program record for three-pointers made in a single season last year, the Panthers continue to fire from deep, entering Friday in the top-five in the country for three-pointers attempted, three-pointers made, and three-pointers per game. HPU makes an average of 10.1 long balls per game, good for fourth in the country, while the Purple and White's 192 total makes on 557 attempts each rank third in all of Division I.
 

...In a No-Fly Zone

High Point is one of the best teams in the country in defending the three-pointer, entering Friday leading the conference and in seventh place in all of Division I by allowing just 23.9% of opponent three-pointers to fall.
 
Three-Point Club Make Total: 192
 

Second-Half Shutdown

The Purple and White clamp down defensively when they enter the second half with a lead, entering Friday 11-1 when leading at halftime. The Panthers have yet to lose a conference game when leading at the break, going 9-0 with a halftime lead and coming from behind at halftime three times now after trailing at the half in both games against Gardner-Webb.
 

Smooth Shooting

HPU shot 54.8% in its win on Jan. 16, the best shooting percentage of the season and the best since the Panthers shot 57.4% against Radford on Feb. 18, 2015.
 

Painting a Picture

The Panthers don't outscore opponents in the paint often, but when they do they're usually successful. HPU enters this weekend 4-1 when winning the battle in the lane, with the lone loss coming in the last game.
 

7-0 with Four in Double Digits

The first win against Charleston Southern marked the seventh time that HPU has had four players score in double digits in the same game when Wyatt, Edwards, Curran, and Cydney Johnson crossed the 10-point threshold. All seven times that the Purple and White have had four scorers in double digits have resulted in wins, with an average winning margin of 17.8.
 

Magic Number

70 seems to be the magic number for HPU's offense as the Panthers are 8-0 when scoring more than 70 points in games this season.
 

Everything Gets Better When the Sun Goes Down

HPU is 10-2 when playing games at night this season, including an 8-0 mark in Big South action once the sun has set.
 

Break Point(s)

High Point likes to push the tempo in transition and is 9-2 when the Purple and White score more fastbreak points than their opponents, including a 7-1 mark in conference play.
 

Seven Days a Week

High Point has played a game every day of the week this season and has picked up at least one win on each day.
 

Steph Curry or Skyler Curran?

Curran is in the top-five in the country for three-pointers made and attempted this season. She's thrown up 143 shots from behind the arc - the fourth-most in the country - and has connected on 58 of them, the fifth-most in Division I and most in the Big South.
 

Ball Movement

The Panthers lead the Big South in assist to turnover ratio, dishing out an average of .97 assists to each turnover. High Point is also second in the conference in total assists and assists per game with 259 total helpers for an average of 13.6 each game.
 

You Don't Make It, She Takes It

Curran is second in the conference in defensive rebounds per game, snagging an average of 6.6 opponent misses off the glass per game.

 
Up Next: High Point returns home next weekend for the first home games in 34 days when the Hampton Lady Pirates visit on Friday (Feb. 19) and Saturday (Feb. 20). Game times are still to be determined at this point.
 
This women's basketball preview is presented by Beamer Tire and Auto.