High Point WBB drops road contest at Davidson, 82-72

• Sophomore Emma Bockrath stuffed the statsheet with 12 points, 13 rebounds and three assists for her second career double-double.
• Junior Kat Harris posted 12 second-half points en route to a 15-point outing.
• Sophomore Haleigh Hatfield returned from injury hitting two three-pointers while racking up 13 points and five rebounds.

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team made a late charge, but fell to Davidson, 81-72, in Belk Arena on Wednesday night.

Junior Kat Harris converted a four-point play in the closing seconds of the third quarter to pull the Panthers (1-7) to within six points, 58-52. But the Wildcats (1-8) responded with an 11-1 run to open the fourth to build a commanding lead.

High Point answered with a 12-0 run late in the final period, but it wasn’t enough as Davidson took a 6-5 edge in the all-time series.

“We just gave up way too many fastbreak points tonight and it continues to be about effort for us,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “Throughout the course of the game, we just took too many possessions off and we need to learn that we can’t do that and expect to win. I sure hope our upcoming break will give us a chance to regroup and allow us to build momentum headed into conference play.”

Sophomore Emma Bockrath recorded her second double-double of her career with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Haleigh Hatfield returned from injury with a 13-point, 5-rebound performance.

The balanced HPU attack provided four double-digit scorers as Harris tallied a team-high 15 points and freshman Camryn Brown added 14 off the bench.

The Purple & White earned a 43-42 edge on the boards as Hatfield, sophomore Shea Morgan and senior Kaylah Keys each pulled down five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Keys dished out five assists as HPU assisted on 17 of its 23 field goals in the contest.

Despite shooting just 34 percent from the field (23-67), the Panthers stayed close due to its 19-of-23 night at the free throw line as Brown converted all six of her chances. On the other hand, Davidson shot 48 percent (29-60) while knocking down a season-high eight three-pointers.

For the home squad, Kianna Speight posted a game-best 20 points while Mackenzie Latt added 19 points in a winning effort.

Four different Panthers entered the scoring column in the first three and a half minutes as Bockrath’s first bucket knotted the score at 8-all at the 6:35 mark. However, Davidson stormed back with a 12-2 run before Hatfield’s three-pointer made it 20-13 with three minutes left in the quarter.

From there, neither team scored for nearly three minutes until Chloe Johnson went coast-to-coast to beat the buzzer and give Davidson a 22-13 lead after one quarter.

Early in the second quarter the Wildcats’ lead grew to 12, 30-18, with 7:18 left in the period. But High Point’s defense took over the rest of the frame holding Davidson to one basket the rest of the half.

Along with the defense, HPU’s offense got going hitting 4-of-6 down the stretch as Hatfield’s second trifecta capped a 15-2 run to give HPU a 33-32 lead. But in the closing seconds, Davidson converted two free throws to take a 34-33 edge into the break.

After halftime, Edwards posted the first bucket to give HPU a 35-34 lead at the 9:13 mark. Later, the Purple & White’s advantage moved to two when a putback by Bockrath made it 40-38, 6:18.

However, Davidson responded with a 12-2 spurt to build a 50-42 lead with 2:55 to play in the quarter. Harris, though, slowed the run with a pair of free throws, 50-44, before the Wildcats regained a 10-point advantage at 58-48 with 50 seconds left in the quarter.

Harris kept coming for the Panthers hitting a three-pointer while being fouled. The Charlotte, N.C. native converted the free throw to post eight points in the quarter and send High Point to the final frame trailing by six, 58-52.

But High Point’s momentum was halted by an 11-1 run to open the fourth quarter for Davidson (71-53, 5:00). The Purple & White refused to go quietly as two three-pointers from Brown anchored a 12-0 run to make it 77-70. But HPU would get no closer as the Wildcats earned the victory.

The Panthers take the rest of the week off for finals before returning to the Millis Center floor on Saturday, Dec. 17 to take on Spring Hill College at 2 p.m. The Badgers are led by HPU graduates Karen (Curtis) McConico and Amy (Dodd) Calhoun.