ROCK HILL, SC-- The Winthrop women's basketball team will look for its fourth win in five games as it travels to Radford, VA to take on conference foe Radford Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Dedmon Center.
     It is the biggest game of the season for the Lady Eagles so far as they have an opportunity to even their conference record at 6-6 and pull within one game of Radford in the conference standings. That would put the Lady Eagles just one game out of third place in the Big South Conference standings.
    Winthrop would sweep the season series and would hold any tie breaker at the end of the season should the two teams somehow end up tied at the end of the regular season.
    It will be a tough task for Winthrop to capture the win tonight against a Radford team averaging 60.2 points per game at home during conference play. Winthrop is averaging 55.6 points per game on the road in league play and allowing 59.0 points.
    The Lady Eagles have shot pretty solid on the road at 41 percent while holding opponents to 36 percent, which has helped the Lady Eagles to a winning record in league play on the road at 3-2.
    In those five road games, freshman Dequesha McClanahan has averaged 15.2 points while shooting 42 percent from the floor and 33 percent from behind the arc. She's also averaged 4.2 assists and 2.4 steals. Junior center TaQuoia Hammick has also provided offense on the road as she's averaging 9.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 54 percent from the floor.
    Hammick is coming off a game in which she tied her career-high in points with 16 and she also pulled down 11 rebounds in the win at PC. Hammick scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half on 8-for-14 shooting. In the last five games, Hammick is averaging 8.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 53 percent from the floor.
    Despite scoring an average of just 48.2 points over the last five games, Winthrop has a winning record at 3-2 and has won three of the last four games.
    Winthrop has been able to find enough points despite its struggled behind the arc in the last five games (13-66, 20 percent). Lacey Lyons is the top three-point threat on the team, but is 4-for-23 in that stretch while Mary Hathaway is 1-for-10. McClanahan has also struggled from three (4-for-19).
    Tough defense has helped the Lady Eagles pick up victories despite some struggles from the field. Winthrop has held three of the last four opponents below 50 points. Another key has been the offense in the second half. At Coastal the Lady Eagles shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and 62 percent at Presbyterian College on Saturday. 
After a 7-1 start to the conference schedule, Radford has lost three straight and will be hungry to end that skid and keep hold of third place in the standings and keep the chances of finishing second alive.
    Radford is led by sophomore Da'Naria Erwin Spencer at 13.5 points per game and a team-best 75 assists and 58 steals. Senior Denay Wood is averaging 8.7 points, despite shooting 29 percent from the floor as she's 56-for-69 (81 percent) from the free throw line. Senior Brooke McElroy is third on the team in scoring at 8.0 per game and leads the team in rebounding at 7.5. She's shooting 45 percent from the field and is second on the team with 50 steals.
    In seven conference home games, Radford has averaged 58.6 points and held opponents to 57.9 points. In the five wins, four of them were by seven points or less, including an overtime win over High Point. The other three have been decided by 10 or more points with an 11-point win over Coastal (10 point loss to UNCA and 16 point loss to Liberty).
    Erwin Spencer has averaged 13.6 points and 2.7 assists in the conference home games. She's shot 41 percent from the field and 62 percent from the foul line. She was 9-for-12 against Charleston Southern, but is shooting 36 percent in the other six games, including a 2-for-12 performance in the last game against Liberty.
    Wood has struggled shooting at home with 26 percent shooting and 24 percent behind the arc. Wood still averages 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds during league home games. McElroy is averaging 6.9 points on 38 percent shooting and averaging 7.4 rebounds in  Big South home games. She's only 10-for-23 from the foul line in those games.
   
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