• Freshman Emma Bockrath registered a career high with 26 points – including 10 in the fourth quarter – while hitting all four attempts from beyond the arc.
• Junior Kaylah Keys racked up 18 points to go with five rebounds on the afternoon.
• Senior Aariel Allen will be honored prior to Tuesday’s contest with Campbell in the Millis Center.
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Freshman Emma Bockrath scored 10 fourth-quarter points to lead the High Point University women’s basketball team to a 78-72 victory at Charleston Southern on Saturday afternoon.
Bockrath tallied a career-high 26 points hitting all four of her three-point attempts to lead the Panthers (11-16, 10-8) to the win. Defensively, HPU forced the Bucs (13-15, 9-10) into 23 turnovers and converted those extra possessions into 32 points on the other end.
“Going on the road on senior night you know it’s going to be tough,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “It’s the time of the year when ugly wins are still wins so we will take it. I can’t say enough about Emma’s effort tonight. She loves big moments and we saw that in this game.”
Junior Kaylah Keys continued her scoring production posting 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and four steals. Likewise, sophomore Kat Harris gave the Purple & White three in double figures with 14 points and three assists.
On the glass, CSU earned a +5 margin (40-35) despite seven boards from senior Aariel Allen and five more from Bockrath.
Offensively, the Panthers shot 43 percent (24-56) from the floor while knocking down 9-of-17 three-point attempts (53 percent). On the other end, the HPU defense limited the Bucs to 38 percent (23-61) from the floor and 35 percent (9-26) from three-point land.
The contest featured 48 free throws and 49 fouls as High Point went 21-27 (78 percent) from the charity stripe while CSU hit 17 of its 21 tries (81 percent).
Early three-pointers from Keys and Bockrath paced the Panthers to a 10-9 lead after five and a half minutes of first-quarter action. But the Bucs answered with a 10-3 run and held on to a 21-17 edge after the first period.
Shauntavia Dobson hit two three-pointers in the first 70 seconds of the second quarter as CSU extended its advantage to eight (27-19, 8:51). However, Keys, Harris and Bockrath drilled trifectas over the next two minutes to provide a 9-0 run as HPU pulled ahead by one at 28-27 (5:50).
The pace slowed as neither team scored a field goal until freshman Kyrie’ Chandler’s runner at the 1:35 mark (33-29). From there, the HPU lead grew to six (37-31) on free throws by redshirt-freshman Kennedy Currie as the Purple & White entered the break with a 39-33 lead.
Harris scored five of the first seven points for High Point in the third quarter as the lead grew to nine (46-37, 7:11). But CSU posted an 11-5 run to fight back within one points (51-50, 3:17). However, four free throws and a Keys layup allowed the Panthers to enter the final frame clinging to a 61-57 advantage.
The Bucs started the final period with a 6-2 spurt to even the score at 63-all (7:28). But Bockrath would have none of that scoring the next 10 HPU points to give her squad a 73-65 lead with 3:13 to play. From there, CSU pulled as close as three (75-72, 1:43) before the Panthers converted their free throws down the stretch to earn a 78-72 win.
The Panthers celebrate senior day on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Millis Center against Campbell.