HPU WBB Panthers Defeat UNCG, 82-75

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team defeated UNC Greensboro, 82-75, Saturday night (Dec. 1) in the Millis Center.

The Panthers (4-3) dished out 16 assists on 30 made shots, while the Spartans (3-4) had 11 assists on 25 made shots. The Purple & White snagged 12 steals and forced UNCG into 20 total turnovers. Both teams were nearly even in shooting percentage and rebounds. HPU took a slight edge in shooting percentage at 49.2 percent-48.1 percent, while UNCG grabbed 32 boards to High Point’s 31.

Senior Lindsey Edwards led the Panthers in scoring with 17 points, while senior Shea Morgan was tops on the team in rebounds with six. Morgan also added 16 points. Freshman Skyler Curran and senior Emma Bockrath rounded out the HPU players in double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

“Who doesn’t love rivalry games?” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “It was a fun environment. I thought we had a great crowd that really helped us get win at the end. I felt like our kids came in focused and were really locked into the game plan and just had a lot of fun. I thought we played really hard and really locked in at halftime to the halftime adjustments.”

HPU took a 40-38 lead into halftime, but the Spartans immediately tied the game at 40-40 to start the third quarter. The Panthers responded with an 11-0 run from the 8:46 mark to the 7:03 mark to take a 51-40 lead. HPU out-scored UNCG 26-16 in the third to take control of the game. High Point grabbed its largest lead, 15 points, with 8:47 left in the fourth quarter. The Spartans cut the lead to seven with 1:14 left, but were unable to get any closer. HPU shot 60.0 percent (18-30) from the field in the second half.

The Panthers shot 6-16 (37.5 percent) from three with Curran going 3-4 and Morgan shooting 2-3 from behind the arc. HPU capitalized at the free-throw line making 16 of its 20 attempts.The Purple & White out-scored UNCG on points in the paint (39-36), points off turnovers (19-17), fast break points (17-2) and bench points (30-14).

Bockrath led the Panthers with six assists and four steals. Bockrath and senior Bria Gibson were second on the team in rebounds with five each.

Nadine Soliman led the Spartans with 21 points, while Te’ja Twitty added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next, High Point travels to Clemson, S.C. to play Clemson on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Littlejohn Coliseum.