HPU Women’s Basketball Drops 66-62 Decision At NC State

• Redshirt-Stacia Robertson finished with 20 points and seven rebounds to lead HPU
• High Point finished with a 10-point edge in the paint, 34-24
• The Panthers outscored NC State by three in the second half after trailing by seven at halftime

RALEIGH, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team battled NC State throughout the game on Friday night before falling to the Wolfpack by a score of 66-62. Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson led the Panthers with 20 points and seven rebounds on the night.

“I am really proud of our effort tonight and I really feel like we are on the way to becoming a much tougher team,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “We aren’t good enough to have mental lapses on the defensive end so we need to get better there. I think we battled tonight, I just wish the result could have gone the other way.”

Robertson shot 10-15 from the floor on the way to her second-straight 20-points game for HPU. Sophomore Kayalah Keys also finished in double figures on the night with 13. Senior Ashante Richard paced High Point with five assists.

Four different NC State players finished in double figures, led by Miah Spencer’s 14 points. Dominique Wilson had 12 while Krystal Barrett and Carlee Schuhmacher each had 10. Schuhmacher also led the Wolfpack with seven rebounds while Barrett finished with a team-high five assists.

High Point outscored State in the paint by a 34-24 margin and outrebounded the Wolfpack by a 32-29 margin. NC State took advantage of shooting 12 more free throws than HPU, going 15-19 from the charity stripe compared to 6-7 for High Point.

NC State was hot early from behind the arc, connecting on its first three shots from three to take an early 15-8 lead. Robertson provided the offense for HPU early with six of the Panthers’ first eight points.

Still trailing by seven, High Point battled back to take a 23-22 lead with a 13-5 burst that included threes from redshirt-senior Lindsay Puckett, freshman Kat Harris and Keys.

The two teams traded leads three times before a late 14-7 run by the Wolfpack gave NC State a 39-32 lead heading into halftime.

High Point outscored NC State by three in the second half but the Wolfpack never relinquished the lead. The Panthers pulled to within three points on three different occasions in the second half, the last one coming with 4:25 left to play on a jumper by senior Latrice Phelps. NC State responded with a quick 6-0 spurt to open a nine-point lead at 62-53 and held on to win by four.

HPU falls to 1-2 on the season with the loss while NC State moves to 4-0.

High Point returns home on Sunday, Nov. 23, to take on William & Mary at 2 p.m. The Panthers earned a 61-60 road win over W&M last season.