HPU Women’s basketball downs the Eagles, 80-60

• High Point earned its second-straight Big South win with an 80-60 victory over Winthrop on Saturday.
• The Panthers had four double-digit scorers in the game, led by sophomore Kat Harris who scored 16 on the day.
• Freshmen Emma Bockrath and Haleigh Hatfield both had double-doubles for HPU.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team pulled away for an 80-60 win over Winthrop on Saturday afternoon at the Millis Center. Sophomore Kat Harris had 16 points in the win to lead a group of four HPU players in double figures.

Box Score

High Point (10-15, 9-7) led Winthrop (4-21, 3-13) by eight, 63-55, with a little over six minutes left in the fourth quarter when Harris connected on a three to start a 17-5 run by the Panthers to close out the game.

“I thought this was a great team win. We had a lot of contributions from a lot of players. I was really proud of our effort on the defensive end. We had stops at the right time. I thought we were better defensively in the first half but we still did a pretty good job in the second half as well. We just need to work on boxing out and finishing the play.”

Harris scored 16 points on 5-8 shooting, including 3-4 from behind the arc. Junior Kaylah Keys added 15 points for the Purple & White to go along with a team-high five assists.

Freshman Emma Bockrath and Haleigh Hatfield joined Harris and Keys in double-figures with 14 and 13 points respectively. The freshman pair both had double-doubles on the day as Bockrath pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds and Hatfield grabbed 10 rebounds.

Aliyah Kilpatrick led Winthrop in scoring and assists with 15 and seven in the contest. CiiCii Buford (14) and Naima Jackson (11) also posted double-digit scoring days for WU.

Neither team took control of the game at the start as the lead bounced back and forth between the Eagles and Panthers six times in the first quarter with four ties in the opening 10 minutes of action. Six players scored for HPU in the quarter led by Hatfield, who had six points, and Bockrath, who chipped in five.

High Point scored the final four points of the first quarter on two free throws by Hatfield and a layup by Harris, spurring a 14-4 run by the Panthers that put HPU up 28-20 and forced a Winthrop timeout.

The Panthers continued to extend their lead late in the first half, pushing it as high as 13 before ultimately going into the locker room up 11, 38-27, at the break.

High Point never relinquished the lead following halftime, The Eagles were held at arms length throughout the half, unable to pull any closer than within five early in the third quarter.

The Panthers remain at home for their next contest, as they will welcome the Flames of Liberty to the Millis Center on Tuesday, Feb. 23. High Point dropped the first game against Liberty by a score of 56-43 in Lynchburg. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.