HPU WBB Heads To Winthrop For Big South Clash On Tuesday

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team will travel to Winthrop on Tuesday for a critical conference showdown.

The Panthers (15-9, 11-4) cruised to a 92-60 victory over Charleston Southern on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Eagles (13-10, 9-5) split their two games last week. Winthrop enters Tuesday’s contest a game and a half behind HPU in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Big South Tournament.

Last Time Out:
The Purple & White’s offense went off on Saturday night to lead the team to a 92-60 triumph over Charleston Southern in the Millis Center. The 92 points were the most by the Panthers since their 100-point output in a 100-65 win over Davidson on Nov. 24, 2013.

Sophomore Kaylah Keys paced the team with 19 points and four steals to go with four assists. Redshirt-senior Lindsay Puckett scored 15 points and knocked down three of HPU’s season high 12 3-pointers. Freshman Kat Harris equaled her career best with 12 points in a reserve role.

Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson registered her 10th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore DeAnneisha Jackson tallied nine rebounds and seven points off of the Panthers’ bench.

HPU had 11 players score in the game with sophomore Maja Michalska and junior Lydia Harvey drilling two 3-pointers apiece. Senior Ashante Richard played the role of distributor dishing out five assists while notching three steals.

The Panthers dominated on the defensive end holding the Bucs to 33 percent shooting and racked up 13 steal. HPU also controlled the glass earning a +14 (49-35) margin in rebounds. Behind Robertson’s eight offensive rebounds, the squad posted 28 second-chance points and a 26-16 advantage in points in the paint. The team also outscored the Bucs 11-0 in fast break points.

The Opponent:
Winthrop comes into the game after winning five of its last six games including a 57-54 win at UNC Asheville on Saturday. The recent success has put the Eagles within striking distance of HPU in the league standings making Tuesday’s game vital for sending in the Big South Tournament.

The trio of sophomore Erica Williams, junior Schaquilla Nunn and redshirt-sophomore Aliyah Kilpatrick lead the way for the Eagles. Williams is second in the conference with 16.0 points to go with 9.0 rebounds per outing. Nunn is one of the best in a deep crop of forwards in the league. The junior is leading the conference in rebounds (11.2/g) and blocks (3.87/g) and is seventh with 12.9 ppg. Kilpatrick is posting 10.9 ppg and is fourth is steals (2.38/g).

Balance has been an issue for the Eagles with the trio of Williams, Nunn and Kilpatrick scoring 64 percent of the points. Winthrop is last in the league in 3-pointers made and in 3-point shooting percentage. The offense relies heavily on Williams to create shots for herself and for the rest of the team as she has dished out nearly a third of the Winthrop’s assists.

The squad doesn’t just control the paint on the offensive end, but they lead the conference with 5.96 blocked shots per contest. It is also winning the rebounding battle by 2.4 boards per game.

A close game score won’t bother the Eagles who have earned four of their last five victories by five or fewer points.

Panther Notes:

• The Panthers have a 23-19 advantage in the all-time series with the Eagles.

• The offense is shooting at a record pace this year (42.1 percent). The Panthers lead the Big South and are on pace to best the program record of 41.3 set during the 2010-11 season. Winthrop holds opponents to 36.4 percent shooting.

• Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson is averaging 16.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, 2.2 steals and 2.8 assists since Jan. 3.

• The Panthers won the Big South regular season crown last season thanks to a 6-1 record in the month of February. The team is 2-1 in the month this season. The only losses in the month of February the last two season came at Presbyterian.

• Kaylah Keys and Stacia Robertson form the highest-scoring tandem in the Big South. The inside-outside duo is averaging 29.6 points a game. Robertson is third in the league with 15.1 ppg while Keys is fourth with 14.5 ppg. Sophomore Erica Williams (16.0 ppg) and junior Schaquilla Nunn

• The Panthers are 11-1 at home this season to tie the Div. I era record, which is the second best home record in the Div. I era.

• The Purple & White is 13-2 when at least three players reach double figures in scoring. The win over Gardner-Webb was the only time this season the team won with two-or-fewer players scoring 10-plus points.

Next Up:
The Panthers will remain on the road for a Valentine’s Day clash at Campbell on Saturday at 1 p.m. The HPU men’s squad will play right after the women as a part of a Panthers versus Camels doubleheader.