High Point Women’s Basketball Nets 56-42 Exhibition Win Over Winston-Salem State

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team picked up a 56-42 win over Winston-Salem State in exhibition action Sunday afternoon at the Millis Center. Redshirt-sophomore Stacia Robertson had a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds in the win.

“Exhibitions games are tough because it is the first times in uniform and on the floor in front of the crowd,” said head coach DeUnna Hendrix. “There were more turnovers than we wanted to see and a lot of sloppy plays but it shows us exactly what we need to work on. It is nice to have Stacia on the floor and get her in to the rotations with Cheyenne and Erin. We set the tone early on the defensive end but I would like to see it carry through the rest of the game.”

Robertson shot 9-11 from the floor and led the Panthers in both scoring and rebounds. She also tied junior Cheyenne Parker for the team lead with four steals. Senior Erin Reynolds finished with 11 points and a team-high six assists while Parker had 10 points, eight rebounds and a team-high seven blocks.

Dionna Scott led Winston-Salem State with nine points in the contest.

High Point scored the first 12 points to open the game before WSSU got on the board with a free throw by Jovonah Graham with 13:58 remaining in the first half. Robertson and Parker combined to score nine of the Panthers’ first 12 points to start the game.

The HPU lead was eight, 15-7, with 8:35 left in the first half when Robertson and Reynolds combined to score nine-straight for the Panthers to open up a 24-7 lead with five minutes remaining in the period. Robertson scored two-straight buckets in the paint, followed by a three-pointer and two free throws by Reynolds to help High Point to its biggest lead of the first half.

After a 9-1 burst by the Rams pulled WSSU to within nine, 25-16, with 1:45 remaining in the half, High Point outscored the visitors 6-2 the rest of the way to go in to the locker room with a 31-18 lead at the half.

Robertson led all scorers in the first half with 11 points on 5-6 shooting and had a team-high six rebounds. The HPU defense held Winston-Salem State to just 6-25 shooting in the first half and had seven blocked shots. The Panthers forced 18 turnovers including three shot-clock violations.

High Point held the Rams at bay in the second half, building a lead to as large as 20, 46-26, on a free throw by freshman Tabitha Fudge with 8:36 remaining. The Panthers never allowed WSSU to pull within single digits, ultimately winning by 14, 56-42.

HPU held Winston-Salem State to just 21.3 percent (13-61) shooting for the game and forced 30 turnovers. The Panthers outscored WSSU 32-12 in the paint and finished with a 26-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

High Point officially opens its season on Saturday, Nov. 10, when the team hosts East Tennessee State at the Millis Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.