HPU Women’s Basketball Pulls Out 72-65 Win Over Brevard College To Open 2014-15 Season

• Sophomore Kaylah Keys paced the Panthers with 22 points and four assists
• High Point outscored Brevard College by 14, 43-29, in the second half to pick up the come-from-behind win.
• HPU opens the season at 1-0 for the fourth-straight year.

High Point, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team opened the 2014-15 season with a 72-65 win over Brevard College on Saturday afternoon at the Millis Center. Sophomore Kaylah Keys scored 22 points to lead the Panthers.

“We have a lot of work to do,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “It was the first game and we had a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes. Twenty-four turnovers is just not us and I think we were forcing things on the offensive end. We will get back to the drawing board quickly and continue to work.”

Keys scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half as High Point erased a seven-point halftime deficit. The sophomore shot 6-13 from the floor and 8-8 from the free throw line to lead all scorers in the game. She also tied for the team lead with four assists. Sophomore DeAnneisha Jackson recorded her third career double-double with 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds off the bench.

Senior Latrice Phelps also finished in double figures with 10 points while senior Stacia Robertson matched her career high with six blocks to go along with six points and nine rebounds.

Madison Lenox finished with 16 points and six rebounds for Brevard College and Katie Williams chipped in 12 points and four steals for the Tornados.

High Point shot 15-31 (48.4 percent) in the second half, outscoring Brevard College by 14 after halftime. The Panthers used their size to their advantage, outrebounding the Tornados by a 48-40 margin and recording 10 blocked shots. HPU had 38 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points in the win.

HPU jumped out to an early 7-0 lead following the opening tip as Robertson, Keys, and Jackson all scored early buckets. High Point’s lead remained seven, 23-16, with just under seven minutes remaining before Brevard College finished the half on a 20-6 run to take a 36-29 lead into the locker room. Williams scored nine of Brevard’s 20 points in the first-half run.

The Tornados pushed their lead to 11, 42-31, early in the second half when Keys spurred a quick 8-2 run by High Point. The sophomore connected on a three at the top of the key, drove for a layup and found Jackson on a fast break for an old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Panthers within four at 44-40.

High Point continued to chip away at the Brevard College lead, tying the game at 49-49 on another three pointer by Keys. The Panthers outscored Brevard College 23-16 the rest of the way to earn the come-from-behind win. Keys had nine points and redshirt-senior Lindsay Puckett had six down the stretch for High Point.

The Panthers open the season at 1-0 for the fourth-straight season with the win over Brevard College. High Point is now 7-9 in season openers in the Div. I era.

High Point will hit the road for its next two games, starting with a game at East Tennessee State on Monday, Nov. 17. The Panthers are 2-1 all-time against ETSU, including an 85-76 win at the Millis Center this the teams’ last meeting back in 2012. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.