High Point University Women’s Basketball Sets Multiple Records in Victory over Winthrop

Site: High Point, N.C. (Millis Center)
Score: High Point 94, Winthrop 61
Records: HPU: 9-11 (7-4 Big South), WU: 9-11 (6-5 Big South)
Next HPU Event: Tuesday, Feb. 4 — vs. Hampton (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 7 p.m.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Camryn Brown put on a performance for the history books Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1), setting four different single-game records to power the High Point University women’s basketball team past Winthrop University, 94-61. Brown set school records for points in a single game, three-pointers made in a single game, field goals made in a single game in the Division I era of HPU women’s basketball, and most three-point attempts in a single game. Her 44-point performance also moved her into eighth place on the Panthers’ Division I scoring list and puts her 75 points away from seventh place.

The Panthers also set two school records in the game as a team, both relating to three-point action, to make it six total new entries in the record book. HPU made a total of 20 triples in the game, the most the Purple and White have made in a single game. That number gives High Point a total of 207 on the season, becoming the first team in program history to make 200 shots from beyond the arc, passing the previous record of 199 from the 2016-17 season.

“Cam set the tone, she was unbelievable today,” said head coach Chelsea Banbury of Brown’s record-shattering performance. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been a part of a game where one of our players put on a performance like she did. With how many shots she took, how many points she scored, she distributed the ball well, she was on the boards – she was unbelievable.”

The three-point attack was working from the start for the Panthers and specifically for Brown, with the senior hitting behind the arc twice for High Point’s first six points. Winthrop took the lead with two minutes remaining in the first but HPU closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 21-14 advantage into the second.

Similar to the first quarter, the Purple and White started the second with a pair of triples, this time both coming off the hands of sophomore Skyler Curran. The shots continued to fall later in the quarter, with Brown hitting a three followed by a pair from freshman Callie Scheier, part of an 11-2 run for the Panthers. High Point wasn’t done in the quarter yet, with Curran and Brown each hitting from range once more to give HPU a 48-26 lead at halftime.

The Panthers were on fire from deep in the first half, going 10-23 from beyond the arc. Brown finished the half with four triples while Curran knocked home three. High Point also took care of the ball extremely well in the first 20 minutes, committing only three turnovers in the half while forcing the Eagles to commit seven. HPU’s ball movement played a key role in the lack of turnovers, with the Purple and White dishing out 12 assists in the opening half.

High Point’s three-point barrage continued in the second half, going 6-10 from beyond the arc in the third quarter. The Panthers went on a 16-3 run in the middle of the third to push the lead above 30 points, 72-41. The run was bookended by a pair of historic triples from Brown. Her three to start the run was High Point’s 13th of the game to give the Panthers 200 on the season, breaking the school record for makes from beyond the arc in a single season. Brown’s triple at the end of the run was her eighth of the game, setting the school record for most three-point makes from a single player in a game.

Brown hit a jumper and a layup to end the third with 34 points, three points away from setting a new HPU Division I scoring record, but she also entered the fourth quarter with four fouls, one away from fouling out.

Her shooting in the third quarter alone was one of the best single-quarter performances of the season. Brown scored 16 points in the third to match Curran’s first-quarter total from the Hampton game a week ago for the most points in a single quarter for a Panther this season. She achieved it without missing a shot, going 4-4 from beyond the arc as part of a 6-6 effort from all parts of the floor in the quarter.

Brown kicked off a stretch of 11 straight points for the Panthers with a layup and a three, breaking the Purple and White’s Division I scoring record. Curran followed with her fifth triple of the game to end with 19 points on the day, and Brown ended the run with another triple for an even 10 on the day. Not only was it her 10th triple, it also gave her 42 points in the game, two away from breaking High Point’s all-time single-game scoring record for women’s basketball of 43 from Karen Curtis against Mount Olive on Jan. 22, 1998.

Banbury knew how close Brown was to the record and drew up a play for her star point guard to get her open and classmate Olivia VanSlooten found her for a midrange jumper to give her 44 points and the all-time scoring record in a single game.

“I knew she was close to breaking it so I was trying to get her those last couple points before taking her out. The assistants informed me that she was close to breaking it,” Banbury said of Brown’s final plays. “I said to her ‘this is your last play, this is what you’ve got.’ We got her in there, she made the play and it was exciting. She has left her mark on this program for a very long time.”

Brown came out of the game after attaining the record and the Panthers only hit one more shot, a triple from Zaria Wright to give her 15 points and her fifth-straight game in double-digits. High Point finished the game going 34-69 from the floor for 49.3% and 20-43 from behind the arc for 46.5%, both season-bests.

Lost in all the scoring that the Purple and White did was HPU’s ball movement and control, which played a key role in creating space for the win. The Panthers had 20 assists in the game, led by Brown’s seven, for a season-high. High Point committed only seven turnovers in the game, the fewest in a game since only turning the ball over six times against UNC Asheville during the 2017-18 season.

“Honestly, I’m happiest about the turnovers,” Banbury continued after the game. “The last few games we haven’t been doing a very good job of that – we had 20 in the last one. We were talking about that earlier this week – making smarter decisions with the ball and making the easy pass. We shot the ball extremely well and you end up getting a lot of assists when you shoot the ball as well as we did today. We didn’t have anybody forcing it and it opens things up.”

High Point will look to recreate the magic at the Millis Center on Tuesday evening (Feb. 4) when Hampton visits for a rematch of last Saturday. Then the Panthers head back out on the road for one of their three remaining road games, traveling to face USC Upstate next Saturday (Feb. 8).