HPU WBB Rallies Past Coastal Carolina, 53-52

• Freshman Emma Bockrath’s game-winning free throws with three seconds left gave her a season-high 18 point to go along with six boards and five assists.
• Bockrath’s former AAU teammate – freshman Shea Morgan – tallied 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
• High Point travels to Campbell on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. on the American Sports Network.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Freshman Emma Bockrath drilled two free throws with three seconds on the clock to give the High Point University women’s basketball team past Coastal Carolina, 53-52, in the Millis Center on Tuesday night.

The Panthers (4-11, 3-3) posted an 11-1 run in the final five minutes to erase a 51-42 deficit to complete a come-from-behind victory over the Chanticleers (6-9, 1-5).

“I’m really proud of our team,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “Our freshmen stepped up big for us tonight and got us a win that we really needed to build confidence. We’ve talked about it all year long that if we play solid defense we’ll be tough to beat and we really played tough defense down the stretch.”

Bockrath led the offense with 18 points – including 12 points in the second half – to tally a career high for the second straight game. The Kettering, Ohio native stuffed the statsheet with six rebounds and five assists in the victory.

Junior Kaylah Keys was saddled with foul trouble, but the freshmen picked up the slack for HPU. Freshman Shea Morgan, Bockrath’s AAU teammate, recorded 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting as Lindsey Edwards added 10 points off the bench. The team’s seven freshmen scored 43 of the Purple & White’s 53 points on the night.

On the glass, CCU earned a 37-31 edge. However, redshirt-freshman Kennedy Currie made an impact inside registering three blocks and five rebounds. Neither team was able to eclipse a 40 percent shooting percentage in the defensive battle as HPU shot 38 percent (20-of-53) as the Chanticleers shot 38 percent (21-of-55).

The game started out as a back-and-forth affair as High Point won the first quarter 15-10. However, Coastal Carolina fought back to take a halftime lead with a 16-9 advantage in the second frame (26-24).

Edwards pulled the Panthers within one point (31-30) with 6:36 left in the third before the Chanticleers went on a 14-2 run to build a 45-33 edge. Morgan, then, ended the run with seven seconds left in the third and started a 7-0 run for HPU.

Keys opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to get on the board and Morgan followed with a jumper to make it 45-40 with 9:04 to play. But once again CCU answered to take a 51-42 lead with 5:30 to play. From there, the Panthers’ defense didn’t allow another CCU basket.

Bockrath started the game-ending run with a layup at the 4:28 mark before knocking down an elbow jumper to make it 51-46 with 3:10 to go. Then, Edwards made a layup – the game’s final bucket – with two minutes left (52-50). After that, Edwards hit two free throws and Hatfield split a pair to set up Bockrath for the clutch finish.

In High Point’s final possession, Hendrix called a timeout with eight seconds left to draw up a play for the night’s biggest star. The Purple & White got the lefty Bockrath the ball on the left wing and she drove in and drew a foul before calmly stepping to the line to seal the victory (53-52). The Chanticleers were unable to get a last-second heave off before the final buzzer sounded.

The Panthers will look to make it two wins in a row when they travel to Campbell on Sunday to play the Camels on the American Sports Network at 1:00 p.m.