JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The High Point University women’s basketball team defeated East Tennessee State (ETSU), 73-65, Saturday (Dec. 29) in Johnson City, Tenn.
High Point (7-4) out-shot ETSU (2-14) 43.1 percent (28-65) -41.0 percent (25-61) from the field and 27.3 percent (6-22)-16.7 percent (3-18) from three. The Panthers out-rebounded the Buccaneers 47-35 with 17 boards coming on the offensive end.
Senior Emma Bockrath led the Panthers with a game-high 20 points and tied for the team-high in rebounds at eight. Junior Camryn Brown added 14 points and a game-high six assists for HPU.
“We’ve been struggling on the road for sure,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “It’s nice to get this win right before conference play. I’m really proud of our rebounding effort. That was probably the biggest thing I was concerned about. To even get 17 offensive rebounds, we haven’t been able to do that. There was definitely emphasis on rebounding and I felt like our kids responded.”
The Panthers led 60-44 before the Buccaneers went on an 11-0 run at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters to cut the lead to six. The teams traded 5-0 runs before Brown and junior Lindsey Edwards sank two free throws each to seal the victory for HPU.
Edwards added eight points and eight rebounds, while junior Miya Bull came off the bench to grab eight boards. Freshman Skyler Curran scored nine points, while senior Shea Morgan added eight points and six rebounds. High Point dished out 14 assists and forced 19 turnovers with 10 coming off steals.
The HPU defense forced ETSU into 13 first half turnovers, which helped High Point go on an 11-0 run from the 7:29 mark to the 3:04 mark of the second quarter. The Panthers held the Buccaneers without a made 3-pointer in the first half, while shooting 30.0 percent (3-10) from behind the arc in the first half. The Purple & White carried a 39-25 lead into halftime.
The teams were even in bench points with both scoring 20, while ETSU edged HPU in points in paint 26-24.
Sadasia Tipps and Carley Upton led ETSU with 14 points apiece, while Tipps grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Up next, the Panthers will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on USC Upstate on Saturday, January 5. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on USC Upstate’s campus.