HPU WBB Travels For Valentine’s Day Date With Campbell

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team hits the road again for a crucial Valentine’s Day clash with Campbell on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Panthers (15-10, 11-5) and the Camels (15-9, 10-5) are part of a four-team race for the No. 2 seed in conference tournament. HPU has fallen to third place and sits a half-game behind Radford, but remain a half-game clear of Campbell and Winthrop.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles outscored the Purple & White 20-11 in the last 6:30 of the first half and pulled away for a 91-74 win in the Winthrop Coliseum on Tuesday. Sophomore Kaylah Keys hit a pair of free throws to pull the Panthers within one point at 25-24 with 6:52 before Winthrop went on the decisive run to earn the victory.

Senior Latrice Phelps led the way for HPU scoring a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds on 10-of-18 shooting. Redshirt-senior Staica Robertson added 19 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Sophomore DeAnneisha Jackson gave HPU three forwards scoring in double figures with 10 points to go with seven rebounds.

The Panthers converted on 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) free throw attempts and outscored the Eagles 17-13 in bench points.

Neither team was able to get it going beyond the arc. HPU hit three of its 16 3-point attempts (18.8 percent), including just 1-of-11 shooting in the second half. Meanwhile, Winthrop went 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from 3-point land on the night.

For the second time this season the Panthers allowed two opponents to score 20 points in the same game. The conference’s leading scorer Erica Williams posted 24 point while Aliyah Kilpatrick chipped in with 20 points. Overall the Eagles posted a season-best 52.1 shooting percentage against the HPU defense.

The Opponent:

The Camels are one of the hottest squads in the conference and enter Saturday’s game on a four-game winning streak. The team went on the road on Tuesday and came away with a 56-51 win over UNC Asheville. Campbell shot 34 percent from the floor, but was able to earn the victory by limiting the Bulldogs to 33 percent. Asheville also helped the Camels’ cause going 9-of-20 (45 percent) from the free throw line.

The backcourt trio of senior Kiera Gaines, redshirt-junior RaeChaun Edwards and senior Summer Leverette led Campbell to the victory over the Bulldogs. The three guards combined for 45 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists and eight steals.

Gaines is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder posting 11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest. Edwards tops the conference with 6.2 assists per game and chips in with 9.2 points a night. Leverette is second on the team in scoring with 10.8 points and is shooting 50 percent overall and 35 percent from 3-point land.

Sophomore Amanda Coffer is the team’s main inside scorer averaging 10.5 point an outing, despite failing to score double digits in seven straight games.

The team’s defense has been the key during Campbell’s winning streak. No opponent has scored more than 56 points. The Camels’ defense has limited their last four opponents to 29.7 percent shooting from the floor.

Panther Notes:

• The Panthers have a 25-9 advantage in the all-time series with the Eagles.

• The two teams met on Jan. 5 when the Purple & White bested the Camels 79-59 in the Millis Center. Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson led the way for HPU scoring 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting.

• The offense is shooting at a record pace this year (41.9 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. Campbell holds opponents to 36.0 percent shooting.

• Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson is averaging 16.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, 2.1 steals and 2.8 assists since Jan. 3. She has scored in double figures in all 12 games to go with five double-doubles.

• Senior Latrice Phelps has turned it up a notch in the last five games. She is posting 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds over that stretch.

• High Point hasn’t lost back-to-back league games since taking consecutive road losses at Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian on Feb. 21 and Feb. 23, 2013. The team has gone 38 straight conference games without taking two straight loses.

• The Panthers are forcing 17.5 turnovers per game and are 10-3 when they force 17 or more. Campbell is posting 19.5 turnovers per contest and had 24 in the teams’ previous meeting.

Next Up:

HPU will returns home to host UNC Asheville on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. before enjoying a weekend off. The team will round out the regular season with a trip to Gardner-Webb (Tuesday, Feb. 24) and Senior Day against Radford (Saturday, Feb. 28).