High Point WBB Defeats Presbyterian, 70-63

• Senior Shea Morgan tied a career-high with 22 points.
• Senior Bria Gibson led the Panthers with seven rebounds.
• HPU logged 18 assists on 23 made shots.

CLINTON, S.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team defeated Presbyterian, 70-63, in Clinton, S.C.

High Point (17-7, 10-3) out-rebounded Presbyterian (4-20, 2-11) 43-32. The Panthers out-shot the Blue Hose 46.0 percent (23-50)-27.6 percent (16-58) from the field and 39.1 percent (9-23)-31.6 percent (6-19) from three. HPU posted 18 assists and 12 steals, while PC had nine assists and 14 steals.

Senior Shea Morgan led the Panthers in scoring and tied her career-high with 22 points, while senior Bria Gibson was the leader on the glass with seven rebounds. Morgan added six rebounds and four steals, while Gibson posted seven points. Junior Camryn Brown was tops on the team in assists with 10. Brown scored seven points and grabbed two rebounds.

“I think we did a great job on Kacie Hall at the half,” HPU head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “I think she had two points and ended up with 15. It was the same thing with Trinity Johnson, she ended up with 19 points. Those are two kids we ideally wanted to face guard and not allow them touches. I thought we were too arrogant coming back out in the second half. Those kids went off and they’re capable. They work hard and they’re talented.”

The Panthers led 58-43 with 8:36 remaining in the game when Presbyterian went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to five at 60-55. Senior Lindsey Edwards ended the run with a 3-pointer from the right wing to push HPU’s lead to 63-55. The Purple & White went 5-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the game.

High Point opened the second quarter with a 13-0 run to take a 31-12 lead. The Panthers held Presbyterian to four total points in the second quarter and took a 35-16 lead into halftime. High Point led 47-28 when the Blue Hose went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 49-37. HPU led 54-41 after three quarters.

Senior Emma Bockrath added 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Freshman Skyler Curran posted 10 points, five rebounds and one assist.

The Panthers out-scored the Blue Hose 21-8 in bench points, while Presbyterian took an edge in points in the paint at 16-14, points off turnovers at 25-18 and second chance points at 12-4.

Up next, the Panthers will host Gardner-Webb Saturday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in the Millis Center.