HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team brings its 2015-16 regular season to a close at UNC Asheville on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Justice Center.
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The Panthers (11-17, 10-9) will be the No. 6 seed in next week’s Big South Championship while the Bulldogs (22-6, 14-5) are still in the hunt for the top seed.
Last Time Out
• HPU jumped out to a 26-6 lead over the visiting Camels on Tuesday night in the Millis Center. But Campbell fought back with cut the halftime deficit to nine points before the final period. The visitors outscored the Panthers 23-11 in the fourth quarter to take home a 68-65 win.
• For the second straight game, freshman Emma Bockrath tallied 20 points while tying for the team lead with six rebounds on the night.
• Sophomore Kat Harris scored seven of HPU’s 11 points in the fourth quarter before having her game-tying attempt at the buzzer blocked. She finished the contest with 19 points to equal her career high.
• Junior Kaylah Keys posted 11 points to reach double figures in eight straight contests. She also paced the offense with six assists in 34 minutes.
• The Purple & White outrebounded Campbell 39-35 behind six boards apiece from Aariel Allen, Shea Morgan and Bockrath.
They’re Free
The Panthers lead the Big South and are 34th nationally in free throw shooting percentage (.746). The team boasts four players – Kaylah Keys, Kat Harris, Shea Morgan and Haleigh Hatfield – who are shooting .800 from the charity stripe.
Seeding Story
HPU is locked into the No. 6 seed and will play No. 11 Winthrop on Thursday at 7 p.m. UNCA needs a win and a Liberty loss to be the No. 1 seed next week.
Bockrath’s Freshman of the Year Case
Freshman Emma Bockrath has been stuffing the stat sheet on a nightly basis this season. The wing is second among league freshman in scoring (10.4/g) and first in steals (1.4/g) and assists (2.6/g) and fifth in rebounding (4.3/g).
Scouting the Bulldogs
• The Bulldogs were on an eight-game winning streak and controlled their own destiny for the Big South title when they entered the final week of February. However, the team dropped consecutive contests for the first time this season at Gardner-Webb then at home against Campbell.
• UNCA’s league-leading offense is led by the junior duo of Tianna Knuckles and Chatori Major who combine for 25.6 points a night. The pair anchors the squad’s three-point shooting making 71 percent of the team’s triples.
• Ten different players average at least 12 minutes per outing, but seven of those players are guards. The team relies heavily on junior K.J. Weaver and sophomores Bronaza Fitzgerald and Tiffany Wilson in the post.
• Fitzgerald is coming off her best performance of the season with 18 points and 15 rebounds in just 17 minutes as the Bulldogs got back on track with a 91-68 victory at Charleston Southern on Tuesday night.
All-Time Series with UNC Asheville
The Bulldogs snapped a 13-game losing streak in the series earlier in the season, but still trail HPU 34-12 all-time.
Last Time They Met
Junior Kaylah Keys led four Panthers scoring in double figures with 20 points. However, the Panthers were outscored 11-5 in the final five minutes to earn an 82-81 victory.
Next Up
The Purple & White moves into the postseason against No. 11 Winthrop at 7 p.m. in Asheville, N.C. on Thursday.