BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb hosts Radford on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. and before the game the team will celebrate their seniors for Senior Day. The celebrations for the team are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. as they will honor their six graduates during it.
 
Both teams enter the game with 0-2 records within league play as GWU fell to Mercer on Wednesday then lost at Longwood in overtime on Sunday. Radford on the other hand, fell to Campbell and Presbyterian, losing the two by a combined score of 29-9.
 
Last time out, Gardner-Webb was led by freshman midfielder Emma Duchscherer who tallied a career-high five points against Longwood. She dished an assist and scored a career-best four goals.
 
Another freshman, Holly Martindale, also had a strong performance in Farmville. She played the entire second half and forced four turnovers from the Lancers and scooped three groundballs. During the final thirty minutes of regulation, Longwood only scored two goals after netting nine in the first half.
 
The Highlanders have been led this year by junior attacker Ashlyn Grogan with 16 goals and 16 assists with senior Margaret Gleason scoring 24 times and having six assists as well.
 
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Mark Binetti on the call.
 
Seniors
 
Danielle Burke (Concord, N.C.) joined the program in the fall of 2020, transferring in from Longwood University and playing 29 games for Gardner-Webb since joining. She has totaled 450 saves during her career between the two schools, tied for third-most in league history. In 2022, she was named Second-Team All-Conference, becoming the first goalie from Gardner-Webb to receive a postseason honor. She is tied for the school record for single-game saves after making 18 stops at George Washington last season and was named Big South Defender of the Week on March 7 for her performance. Burke made the second most saves in school history in a single season in 2022 as she had 177 stops, which was 6^th in Big South history.
 
Grace Briggs (Waterford, Connecticut) has become one of the toughest defenders across collegiate lacrosse this year ranking Top-30 in the NCAA in both caused turnovers per game and groundballs per game. She is currently 10^th in the country for CTs at 2.30 per game and has scooped 2.83 GBs per game. During her four years, she has collected 57 groundballs while causing 47 turnovers, which is 5^th in program history. She has also scored a goal, dished an assist, and made eight saves across her 43 games played. 2023 has been the statistical best season of her career as she has already set career highs in GBs and CTs with 29 and 22 through ten games played and started this year.
 
Heather Lobas (Huntingtown, Md.) has become of the top defenders in the Big South during her time at Gardner-Webb, earning All-Conference selections to the 2021 and 2022 teams and 2022 and 2023 preseason list. In 2022, she set career highs in groundballs and caused turnovers while also scoring her first career goal and notching her first career assist. She ranks second in career caused turnovers (83) and 5^th in career groundballs (99) in GWU history. Currently, she is 9th in the Big South and 52nd in the NCAA in caused turnovers per game at 1.6.
 
Mackenzie Gallery (Bel Air, Maryland) has been a steady force on defense since her freshman season, starting in all 45 games she has played in. Entering today's game, she has collected 70 groundballs and caused 29 turnovers across her four years in Boiling Springs. Gallery has netted a goal in each of the past two seasons with this year's coming in the season opener against Cincinnati. One of the best games of her career came last season at Stetson as she finished the day with a career-best seven groundballs along with a caused turnover. Last month she played a key role in the team's win at Akron as she forced three turnovers and had three groundballs.
 
Jada Preston (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) has been the most prolific scorer in school history, currently holding school records in single-game assists (8 vs Delaware State in 2019), single-season goals (55 in 2022), single-season points (82), career assists (93), and career points (222). In 2022, she was selected First-Team All-Conference in addition to the All-Tournament Team. At the beginning of this season, she eclipsed the 200-point mark with her first goal of the season at Clemson in February. With this, she became the first player from GWU to ever do so. She currently ranks 9^th in Big South history in career points and tied for 9^th in career assists after playing in 67 games over her five years, making 65 starts. She has totaled 23 points so far in 2023 while serving as a team captain.
 
Jayla Middlebrooks (Decatur, Georgia) enrolled at GWU as a freshman in 2019 and has played in 21 career games entering today's matchup. After missing the 2022 season while moving into a defensive role, she became one of the top defenders on the team. Middlebrooks has started in eight games this year and scooped four groundballs in those contests. During her freshman season while on attack, she notched a pair of goals with one coming against Howard and the second against Akron.