ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop continues Big South play by hosting conference leading Gardner-Webb for a re-match with the Runnin' Bulldogs on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Winthrop will then face Charleston Southern in a re-match on Senior Day on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

Game Information - Winthrop (8-17, 6-8)
Opponent/Date/Time/Location Gardner-Webb (22-4, 14-0) | Wednesday, Feb. 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Rock Hill, S.C. / (Winthrop Coliseum)
Charleston Southern (4-21, 2-12) | Saturday, Feb. 18 | 3:00 p.m. | Rock Hill, S.C. / (Winthrop Coliseum)
Live Stream    Gardner-Webb | Charleston Southern
Live Stats       Gardner-Webb | Charleston Southern
Social Media  Twitter - @WinthropWBB / @WUEagles | Instagram - winthropwbb | #ROCKtheHILL | #EverStand
 
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS GARDNER-WEBB
Winthrop and Gardner-Webb meet for the 37th time with the Runnin Bulldogs leading the all-time series, 26-10. The first meeting occurred on Jan. 24, 1980 with Winthrop winning 82-60 at home. The most recent meeting was on Jan. 21, 2023 with Gardner-Webb winning 74-54 on their home court. The Eagles have lost the last eight and 18 of the last 21 games to Gardner-Webb and are seeking their first home win in the series since an 81-72 decision on Dec. 5, 2015.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
Winthrop and Charleston Southern meet for the 65th time with the series tied at 32. The two teams met for the first time on Jan. 9, 1991 with the Eagles prevailing 79-54 at home. The last meeting occurred on Jan. 25, 2023 with the Buccaneers winning by a score of 53-49 in Charleston on the road. Winthrop has won seven of the last ten games in the series.

A GLANCE AT WINTHROP

• Winthrop is second in the conference in steals per game at 9.4 and scoring defense at 60.3
• Winthrop is third in the conference in free throw attempts per game at 15.1 and turnovers forced per game at 17.7
• Winthrop is fourth in the conference in free throws made per game at 9.9 and offensive rebounding percentage at 31.1
• Winthrop is fifth in the conference in turnover margin at -1.36 and field goal percentage defense at .391
• Jada Ryce is second in the conference in average minutes played at 34.6, fourth in steals at 48 and steals per game at 1.9
• Paige Powell is second in the conference in blocked shots per game at 1.1 and offensive rebounds per game at 3.5, third in the conference in free throw attempts at 119, fourth in field goal percentage at .476 and fifth in rebounds per game at 7.4
• In the 60-29 win over St. Andrew's, Winthrop set a school record for fewest points allowed in the first half since becoming a Division I member in 1986-87
• The 29 points allowed by Winthrop is the eighth-lowest for fewest points allowed in a game since becoming a Division I member in 1986-87
• Highest attended game this season was at West Virginia on Nov. 17 with 6,640 fans
• Winthrop is currently in seventh place out of ten teams in the Big South
• Winthrop has their most wins at this point in the season since winning 11 games in 2019-20
• The win at Upstate is Winthrop's second overall road win and conference road win on the season
• Most conference road wins and road wins overall since 2020-21, when the Eagles won three total road games
• Back-to-back conference road wins and overall road wins since 2018-19
• Second sweep of a Big South conference opponent this season
• Second time this season Winthrop has won back-to-back conference games
• Most conference wins in a season up to this point since 2018-19 (won six)
• Winthrop has won five of the last six games
• Winthrop is 6-5 at home
• Powell currently has career single-season highs in scoring average, rebounding average, steals, blocks
• Price currently has career season-highs in scoring average, steals, free throws made
• Ryce's 48 steals is currently the most in a single-season by an Eagle since 2016-17 when Danyael Goodhope had 52 (2016-17)
• Ryce recorded her first double-double on the season vs. Radford on Feb. 8
• Powell's nine steals vs. Radford came within two of tying the all-time individual single game record in that category (Cassandra Barnes had 11 steals vs. Sacred Heart on Feb. 12, 1981)
• Powell's nine steals is also the most in a game since Jac'Che Whitfield has seven vs. USC Upstate on 1/10/19
• Against Upstate on the road Feb. 11, Winthrop's 19 steals leads the conference in that category
• Ryce had an individual game-high six steals at Western Carolina on Nov. 10, leading the conference in that category
• Price had an individual game-high 22 FG attempts vs. Longwood on Jan. 7, leading the conference in that category
• Powell leads Winthrop in double-doubles this season with six
• Powell had an individual game-high nine steals vs. Radford on Feb. 4, leading the conference in that category
• Powell had an individual game-high five blocks at Longwood on Feb. 1, leading the conference in that category
• Ryce and Leonor Paisana has a 20-point performance this season while Price and Powell has done this feat twice
• Powell has 10+ rebounds on six occasions, Tori Hall has three and Ryce has one
• Price leads the team in three-point FG percentage (.298)
• Ryce leads the team in FG attempts (258)
• Powell leads the team in scoring average (12.0), FG made (109), free throw attempts (118), free throws made (69) and defensive rebounds (94)
• Paisana leads the team in three-point FG attempts (111), three-point FG made (32) FT percentage (.800) and assists (70)

 
The Eagles begin their season with a brand-new roster in head coach Semeka Randall Lay's third season as the permanent head coach. The team has two graduate students, two seniors, one junior, six sophomores and two freshman, with five players being transfers.
Winthrop is coming off a 6-24 (4-14 Big South) season in 2021-22 with Randall Lay in her second season as the permanent head coach. Season highlights include big victories over long-time conference rivals Presbyterian, UNC Asheville, Charleston Southern and Radford.
Randall Lay is in her third season at the permanent helm of the program after serving as associate head coach and then interim head coach. Entering her 11th season as a head coach, she has served in the same role at Ohio University (2008-13) and Alabama A&M (2013-16).

BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Winthrop was voted to finish 9th in the Big South Conference preseason poll. High Point and Gardner-Webb are the co-preseason favorites is the preseason favorite with 92 points (5 first-place votes and 4 first-place votes, respectively) while Campbell was third with 121 points and one first-place vote. They were followed by Radford (55), UNC Asheville (52), defending conference champion Longwood (51), Presbyterian (42), USC Upstate (29), the Eagles (28), and Charleston Southern (23).

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