HPU WBB Travels To Coastal Carolina For Big South Showdown

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team returns from the holiday break and travels to Coastal Carolina for a crucial Big South contest on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The Panthers haven’t played since taking an 83-57 loss to No. 12 Nebraska on Dec. 20. The team will look to rebound and build on its 2-0 start in conference play.

Last Time Out:
HPU went on the road to take on the 12th-ranked Cornhuskers in Pinnacle Bank Arena on Dec. 20 and suffered an 83-57 loss despite being within five with 3:30 minutes remaining in the first half. In the second half, senior Latrice Phelps knocked down a free throw with 18 minutes to play and cut Nebraska’s 12-point halftime lead down to eight. But the Cornhuskers went on a big 20-0 run and were able to pull away for the home win.
Sophomore Kaylah Keys led the offensive attack with 14 points and four assists while adding two steals. Redshirt-senior Lindsay Puckett hit 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to post nine points and a season-high six rebounds. Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson returned to her home state and posted eight points and seven rebounds, as Phelps tallied the same totals.

The Panthers outshot Nebraska from outside the arc as the Purple & White went 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) while the Huskers hit just 3-of-15 (20 percent). However, the home team shot 48.6 percent from the floor while HPU could only knock down 33.8 percent against the solid Husker defense.

Behind eight points from sophomore DeAnneisha Jackson, High Point’s reserves outscored Nebraska 15-8. However, HPU couldn’t slow Rachel Theriot, who finished with 31 points, the most of any opponent this season.

The Opponent:
The Chanticleers have gotten off to a 7-3 start with a 1-0 record in Big South Conference play. Coastal Carolina is led by its explosive offense that leads the league with 79.2 points per game. The team has scored over 110 points in two games this season and is averaging 84.1 per contest inside the HTC Center.

Senior AJ Jordan is leading the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game, which is good for fourth in the Big South. Redshirt-junior Stephanie Isaacs, sophomore Ced Gibson and junior Anna Vogt are fifth through seventh in the conference in scoring, respectively, showing the team’s offensive balance. The Chanticleers are deep, playing 10 players for 10 or more minutes each game. The team likes to get up and down the court with 65 shots per game. CCU also gets to the line 27 times per contest and is shooting nearly 70 percent from the charity stripe this season.

Despite standing at just 5-foot-10, sophomore Alexis Robinson is pulling down over 10 rebounds a game as the Chanticleers are outrebounding their opponents by 17 rebounds per contest. Although the team plays fast, it is only averaging 15.8 turnovers per game while it forces its opponents into 19.3 turnovers per contest. The Chanticleers are making 4.8 3-pointers per contest, which is sixth in the conference.

CCU is coming off a 75-72 loss to St. Francis (Pa.) despite getting 19 points from AJ Jordan.

Panther Notes:
• Kaylah Keys and Stacia Robertson form the highest-scoring tandem in the Big South. The inside-outside duo is averaging 30.5 points a game. Keys leads the league with 15.8 PPG while Robertson is third with 14.7.

• The Panthers have won seven straight regular-season conference games dating back to Feb. 17, 2014. It’s the longest winning streak in Big South play since the team opened 9-0 in the league from Dec. 31, 2011 to Feb. 4, 2012.

• HPU lead the all-time series with the Chanticleers by a 24-14 margin.

• Stacia Robertson ranks in the top-25 nationally in steals (24th, 3.00), blocks (15th, 3.30) and field goal percentage (13th, .596).

• The game will feature the Big South’s two most prolific offenses as CCU leads the league with 79.2 points per game. The Panthers are second in the Big South in scoring averaging 70.0 points per game.

• HPU’s offense is shooting at a record pace this season. The team came into this week hitting 42.5 percent of its shots, which leads the Big South by 0.2 percent over Coastal Carolina. It also puts the Panthers on pace to beat a program record 41.3 from the 2010-11 season.

Next Up:
HPU will wrap up its four-game road trip with a game at Liberty on Saturday Jan. 3 at 4 p.m. on ESPN3. The team will finally return home for the first time since Dec. 8 when it hosts Campbell on Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.