HPU Women’s Basketball Opens Season With Win Over Newberry

HIGH POINT, N.C., The High Point University women’s basketball team opened the 2013-14 regular season with a 79-58 win over Newberry on Saturday at the Millis Center. Redshirt-junior Stacia Robertson and freshmen Kaylah Keys and DeAnneisha Jackson all scored in double figures for the Panthers.

High Point led by six at the half but pulled away for the 21-point win in the second half. Robertson scored 19 points to go along with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Keys was second on the team with 15 points and four rebounds and Jackson added 10 points and four rebounds.

“The team made some great adjustments at halftime and played with a lot of energy,” said head coach DeUnna Hendrix. “We were able to force the ball inside in the second half and get Newberry’s two best players in foul trouble. I am very happy to see every person on the team getting in the game and contributing.”

High Point opens the season with a win for the third straight year.

Samantha Creed led Newberry with 20 points but scored just two of those in the second half. Haylee Lepaio added 11 points and seven rebounds.

High Point won the opening tip and scored right away. Lindsay Puckett had the ball in the paint and dished out to Maja Michalska for a good jumper from the left wing. The Panthers quickly opened up a 10-3 lead, with all 10 points scored by Michalska and Robertson.

Jackson was fouled with 12:32 on the clock and made both free throws to keep High Point’s lead at 10 (16-6). Creed scored six straight points for the Wolves to close the HPU lead to 16-12. Robertson got the ball from Michalska and laid it in to stop the Newberry run.

With 3:25 left in the opening half freshman Teddy Vincent knocked down a three pointer to give High Point an eight-point lead (33-25). Zara Pearson and Kaitlynn Pacholke each answered with a shot from behind the arc for Newberry to get the Wolves within two, 33-31. Keys scored five points in the final two minutes of the half and Lexi Patterson nailed a jumper to send HPU in to the locker room with a 40-24 advantage.

After scoring 18 points in the first half, High Point held Creed to two points in the second half as the Panthers outscored the Wolves 39-24 in the period. Creed’s only points of the second half came with 18:55 on the clock. Her layup closed HPU’s lead to 42-40

Latrice Phelps converted a tough layup and hustled back for a block on the defensive end. Senior Tayler Tremblay and Keys had two points each in the run for the Panthers that pushed their lead to 48-40.

Phelps kept up the energetic play, hitting a jumper from the right wing with 7:16 left to play that pushed High Point’s lead to 70-51. Another block by Phelps led straight to a basket by Keys to gave HPU its first 20-point advantage of the night, 72-51. The Panthers held that lead for the rest of the game, winning 79-58.

Phelps finished with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Patterson added seven points and Tremblay chipped in six points and four assists.

High Point continues its stretch of three games in five days with a 7 p.m. contest at Virginia on Monday. UVA opened the season with a loss to James Madison on Friday.