HPU WBB Travels To Presbyterian For Thursday Clash

HIGH POINT, N.C. ­– The High Point University women’s basketball team will journey south to play Presbyterian on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Templeton Center.

The Panthers (14-8, 10-3) will be looking to pick up consecutive road wins after earning a victory at Longwood on Monday. The Blue Hose (11-11, 6-7) are a tough team to beat at home and will be motivated as it is coming off of back-to-back road losses.

Last Time Out:
The Purple & White came out hot on both ends of the floor, but needed a strong finish to get a 77-63 win over Longwood on Monday night in Willett Hall. HPU was led by its senior class, which wouldn’t allow the team to drop two straight games after the setback versus Liberty on Saturday.

Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson had a spectacular night posting 19 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, a season-high seven assists and five blocks. Fellow redshirt-senior Lindsay Puckett led the squad with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor. Senior Latrice Phelps added 12 points and six rebounds in the winning effort.

HPU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Longwood battled back and took the lead in both halves, however the Purple & White’s veterans had the answer every time.

The Panthers outscored the Lancers 23-8 over the final 7:41 with 19 of those points coming from the senior class. HPU controlled the glass with a plus-18 (44-26) rebounding margin as the seniors pulled down 32 of the team’s boards.

Sophomore Kaylah Keys came off of the Panthers’ bench and scored nine points while first-time starter freshman Kat Harris tallied four of the team’s 19 assists. HPU shot 51 percent (29-of-57) while holding the Lancers to 37 percent (21-of-57).

The Opponent:
The Blue Hose has lost its last two games at UNC Asheville and at Gardner-Webb on Monday night. Presbyterian led at the half against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, but couldn’t hold them off in the second half and fell 50-47. Nine members of the Blue Hose scored in the contest against GWU with none of them reaching double figures in scoring.

Balance has been the key for PC this season as redshirt-junior Keyonna Allen leads the team in scoring with 9.8 points per contest. Freshman Janie Miles is second on the team with 8.6 ppg and is third in the Big South with 39 made 3-pointers this season. Sophomore Aianna Kelly leads the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg) despite being just 5-feet-8-inches tall and is one of five players posting more than six points per outing

Defense and pace is PC’s calling card and that hasn’t changed this season. The Blue Hose leads the conference in defense allowing opponents to score just 50.2 points per outing. On the other end, the squad posts a conference-low 54.4 ppg yet is still fourth in the league in scoring margin. The defense also is the best in the conference in shooting percentage defense (33.6 percent) and 3-point percentage defense (25.5 percent).

Like High Point, the Blue Hose is a different team at home. PC has been hovering around the .500-mark all season, but is 8-1 inside the Templeton Center. The team is allowing opponents to score just 45.3 points per game at home.

Panther Notes:
• The Panthers have a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Blue Hose.

• In the first meeting of the year the Purple & White earned a 54-49 win in the Millis Center. Redshirt-senior Stacia Robertson posted a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds along with six assists and five blocks.

• Thursday’s game will feature HPU’s fast-paced offense that is second in the league in scoring while PC will look to slow the pace. The Panthers are second in the Big South in scoring with 69.1 ppg. Meanwhile, the Blue Hose is allowing just 45.3 ppg at home.

• Stacia Robertson ranks in the top 30 nationally in field goal percentage (14th, .572), blocks (14th, 3.43) and steals (28th, 2.86). The forward is also second in the Big South – 43rd in the nation – in rebounding (10.00rebs/g) and blocks, and is third in scoring.

• Kaylah Keys and Stacia Robertson form the highest-scoring tandem in the Big South. The inside-outside duo is averaging 29.8 points a game. Robertson is third in the league with 15.4 ppg while Keys is fourth with 14.4 ppg.

• The Panthers are off to a 10-3 start in conference play and will be looking to get to 11-3 for the second straight season and fourth time in Div. I history.

• High Point won the Big South regular season crown last season thanks to a 6-1 record in the month of February. The team is 1-0 in the month this season. The team will have a chance to avenge its only setback last Feb., which came at Presbyterian.

Next Up:
The Purple & White will return to the Millis Center on Saturday to host Charleston Southern at 7 p.m.