High Point Women’s Basketball Edged by Campbell¹s Comeback, 51-44

• High Point held Campbell to 25.7 (9-of-35) shooting for the first three quarters before the Camels hit 7-of-11 during their fourth-quarter comeback.
• Junior Emma Bockrath paced the Panthers with 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists playing all 40 minutes for HPU.
• High Point returns to action on Tuesday at Longwood with a 7:00 p.m. tip time in Farmville, Va.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team slowed Campbell’s offense for three quarters before the Camels broke through in the fourth to earn a 51-44 win in the Millis Center on Saturday night.

The Panthers (13-8, 7-3) led by three, 32-29, headed to the final period thanks to limiting the Camels (12-9, 5-5) to 9-of-35 shooting while forcing 11 turnovers through 30 minutes. However, the visitors spoiled HPU’s annual Pink Game shooting 7-of-11 in the fourth to win the frame 22-12 and post a 51-44 victory.

“I thought leading up to the fourth quarter we did a good job defensively,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “But I think we lost our composure in the fourth. We lost defensive assignments and we were scattered on offense and seemed to lose our poise. Those are things were are going to continue to talk about and grow from, but the fourth quarter wasn’t a great one for us.”

As both teams finished the night 16-of-48 (34.8 percent) from the floor Campbell found a 15-0 edge in points from beyond the arc to provide the winning margin. The Panthers entered the week ranked in the top-15 nationally in three-point percentage and had made at least one three-pointer in 91 straight games. However, after going 0-of-16 versus Liberty on Tuesday the team went 0-of-7 against Campbell in Saturday’s setback.

“We have shooters,” Hendrix said of the team’s recent shooting slump. “We have two of the best shooters in, not just the conference, but the nation. So I’d be crazy to tell them to shy away from shooting. The scheme today, because Campbell played with four guards a lot, was to go inside, but we were hoping that would lead to more kickouts for open looks. Now it’s just about getting back in the gym and getting confidence because any time your confidence wavers, shots don’t go down as often.”

Junior Emma Bockrath led the Purple & White with 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists while playing all 40 minutes. Joining her in double figures, redshirt-junior Kennedy Currie notched 10 points and two assists.

For the first time in conference play, HPU didn’t win the battle in points off turnovers as CU turned High Point’s 14 miscues into 16 points while the Panthers scored seven off the Camels 15 giveaways.

Junior Shea Morgan added seven points and eight rebounds while junior Lindsey Edwards chipped in with seven points and four boards. On the other side, High Point held the conference’s No. 2 scorer with out a point in the first three periods before CU’s Summer Price posted 14 in the fourth quarter to lead the Camels in scoring.

After trailing 13-11 after the first 10 minutes, the HPU defense forced eight turnovers and held Campbell to just six points in the second period. On the offensive end Currie paced the Panthers with seven first-half points as the Purple & White led 21-19 at halftime.

The Purple & White seemed to shake the first-half offensive doldrums in the third quarter using a couple of back-cuts to get easy baskets while building a 29-21 lead with 4:27 on the clock. However, by the end of the quarter Campbell had pulled back to within three at 32-29.

In the final frame HPU’s lead went to four twice on a three-point play by Morgan and a Currie layup on the next possession, 37-33, with 8:39 to play. But the Panthers would only make one more field goal – a jumper by Morgan at the 6:39 mark.

Despite that strong defensive finish from the Camels, sophomore Camryn Brown canned a pair of free throws with four minutes to play to give High Point a 44-43 lead. However, Campbell’s Caroline Bowns banked in a three-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer on the next possession to spark an 8-0 to close out the contest.

High Point travels to Longwood on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. tip in Farmville, Va. before returning home on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. to host UNC Asheville.