High Point Women’s Basketball Falls, 86-63, at Virginia Tech

• Sophomore Camryn Brown equaled her career high with five three-pointers, which missed the visitor record in Cassell Coliseum by just one make.
• Playing against the size of the Virginia Tech frontcourt, redshirt-junior Kennedy Currie recorded a career-high 13 rebounds on the evening.
• Leading the scoring, junior Shea Morgan recorded a career-high 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting on the night.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The High Point University women’s basketball team led by eight in the second quarter, but fell 86-63 at Virginia Tech on Saturday in Cassell Coliseum.

The Panthers (4-4) were anchored by four second-quarter three’s from sophomore Camryn Brown as the squad took a 24-16 lead with 7:56 until halftime. But the Hokies (11-2) responded with a 34-13 run through parts of the second and third frames to build a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“We train really hard in our practices, so we need to understand that the games won’t be any different because you will get fatigued in games,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “We’re playing against a different type of athlete, so we have to win on toughness. I’m going to challenge the team to find a different level of toughness in moments like this because we showed we could compete with a team like Virginia Tech. We had 17 assists and when we’re able to move the ball we can knock down shots. We just need to keep buying into playing team basketball going forward.”

Brown led a potent HPU long-range effort tying her career high with five three-pointers on nine attempts. In total, the Panthers hit 10-of-20 from beyond the arc (50 percent) while Virginia Tech shot 33.3 percent.

Despite playing against the Hokie frontline, redshirt-junior Kennedy Currie registered a career-high 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, junior Shea Morgan paced the offense with a career-high 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

Giving the Panthers three in double figures, junior Emma Bockrath recorded 10 points. HPU assisted on 17 of its 24 field goals as Brown dished out four assists and Bockrath and senior Kat Harris were each credited with three on the night.

The bigger Virginia Tech lineup converted 17 of their 25 trips to the line (68 percent) while High Point hit all five of its attempts.

Morgan kicked off the game scoring the first five points as HPU led 5-0 with 7:32 on the clock. However, the Hokies responded with the next 10 points before Currie’s long-range jumper made it 10-7 with 4:22 on the clock. Bockrath, then, scored five straight and freshman Jiselle Thomas added a three as HPU led 15-14 at the end of the first.

In the second frame, it was the Camryn Brown show as the sophomore drilled three trifectas in the first two minutes to give HPU a 24-16 edge. Despite another three by Brown, Virginia Tech finished the half on a 21-8 run to lead 37-32 at the break.

The Hokies kept the momentum out of the break going in a 13-5 run to extend their lead to 50-37 with 6:02 left in the third. From there, the Panthers couldn’t get any closer than 10 as Virginia Tech pulled away for a 86-63 victory.

The Purple & White returns home on Monday to host Davidson at 7:00 p.m. in the Millis Center looking to even the all-time series with the Wildcats at 6-6.