Edwards’ Double-Double Powers HPU WBB to 52-49 Win

• HPU secured two defensive stops in the final 15 seconds to earn a 52-49 victory over Charleston Southern, completing a season sweep
• Junior guard Lindsey Edwards recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds
• Redshirt-junior forward Kennedy Currie was a monster on the glass, pulling down 13 rebounds, which tied her career high

HIGH POINT, N.C. – A double-double from junior guard Lindsey Edwards and two defensive stops in the final 15 seconds lifted the High Point University women’s basketball team to a 52-49 victory over Charleston Southern on Thursday night at the Millis Center. The victory gave HPU 10 conference victories for the seventh straight year, the second-longest streak in conference history.

“I’m incredibly proud of our team,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “We’ve been talking about cohesion and chemistry the last couple days and I felt like we had cohesion tonight. It wasn’t pretty, but we’re grinding wins out in February. As long as we’re doing it together, I’m ok with that.”

With the game tied at 49 with less than a minute to go, Edwards blocked a layup attempt from Njeri Nelms and was fouled. The junior made the first, but missed the second, only to have redshirt-junior Kennedy Currie swoop in for the offensive rebound. HPU (16-10, 10-5) would pick up another offensive rebound with 19 seconds left following a missed shot that sent junior Emma Bockrath to the line. After splitting a pair, CSU (10-16, 5-10) called timeout trailing by two.

The Buccaneers’ Rachel Burns would miss a layup and Currie grabbed her career-high-tying 13th rebound. The redshirt-junior also split a trip to the stripe, which gave CSU one final chance down 52-49. The Panthers forced a contested triple try from Nelms that was off the mark – sending HPU to victory.

Edwards notched her first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Panthers. The junior is now averaging 11.5 rebounds per game over her last two contests after pulling down a career-best 13 against Presbyterian on Saturday. Additionally, Currie poured in seven points to go along with her 13 boards. Sophomore Camryn Brown added nine points and Bockrath posted an all-around effort with eight points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Overall, HPU out-rebounded CSU 45-37 and had 13 offensive rebounds that led to 11 second chance points. The Panthers held the Bucs to 30% shooting, including a 2-for-13 mark in the fourth quarter when HPU outscored CSU 11-6. Additionally, Charleston Southern hit just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc in the contest. High Point held a decisive 12-0 edge in fast break points in a game that was played within a two-possession margin for the final 35 minutes.

HPU started off quick with a 7-0 spurt in the first four-plus minutes before finally ceding a bucket to the Buccaneers. CSU would heat up though over the next five minutes, going on a 14-3 run to grab a 14-10 lead in the early stages of the second quarter.

The back-and-forth nature of the contest continued throughout the entirety of the second quarter with seven lead changes in a 10-minute span. Edwards spurred HPU’s offense in the second stanza, scoring eight points in a six-minute stretch on four fastbreak layups.

The Panthers rebounded from a slow start in the first quarter (4-for-18, 22.2%) to knock down 53.3 percent of their shots in the second quarter (8-for-15). CSU was able to stay in the game thanks to 14 points in the first half from Lexii Cassell, although she would not score in the second half.

High Point moved ahead by five, 37-32, midway through the third quarter on a trio of fast break buckets, only to cede an 11-0 run to Charleston Southern over the next four minutes. The end result was CSU’s largest lead of the game at 43-37 with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter.

HPU immediately responded with a 10-0 spurt over the next five minutes to jump in front 47-43 with 6:29 remaining. The Bucs would tie the game on two separate occasions, but could never take the lead as the Panthers forced CSU to hit just two of the final 15 attempts from the field.

The Panthers hit the road on Saturday afternoon with a trip to Boiling Springs, N.C. to take on Gardner-Webb. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.