Gibson Leads HPU WBB Panthers to 69-62 Win Over Charleston Southern

• Senior Bria Gibson led the Panthers with 18 points, all coming in the second half.
• HPU out-scored CSU 30-12 in the paint.
• The Panthers out-rebounded the Buccaneers 40-28.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team defeated Charleston Southern, 69-62, Tuesday (Feb. 12) in Charleston, S.C.

High Point (16-7, 9-3) out-rebounded Charleston Southern (8-15, 5-7) 40-28. The Panthers shot 41.8 percent (23-55) from the field and 71.4 percent from the free throw line, while the Buccaneers were 39.7 percent (23-58) overall and 88.9 percent (8-9) at the charity stripe. The Purple & White dished out 16 assists and grabbed 11 steals on the game.

Senior Bria Gibson led the Panthers with 18 points, all of which came in the second half. Gibson shot 7-10 (70.0 percent) from the field on the field. The senior forward recorded seven rebounds for HPU. Seniors Shea Morgan and Emma Bockrath were tops on the team with eight rebounds. Morgan was the leader for HPU in assists with seven and scored 17 points. Bockrath added 13 points, three assists and four steals.

“I think in the fourth quarter we decided we wanted to win and we were going to win and we were going to put forth the effort to do so,” HPU head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “I don’t know if we did that the first three quarters, but that fourth quarter it was a different walk. It was a different look in our eyes and just a different determination.”

Bockrath opened the fourth quarter with a three to cut CSU’s lead to 43-44. The Panthers forced two turnovers and Gibson hit two layups to give HPU a 47-44. CSU tied the game at 48 before High Point went on a 4-0 run to take a 52-48 lead. The teams traded buckets then HPU reeled off six-straight points to grab a 60-52 lead. The Buccaneers cut the Panthers’ lead to three at 63-60, but HPU went 6-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the win.

High Point out-scored Charleston Southern 30-12 in the paint, 19-12 in second chance points and 23-7 in bench points. The Bucs took a slight edge in points off turnovers at 26-19.

The Panthers shot 37.0 percent (10-27) overall in the first half, while the Bucs were 33.3 percent (11-33) from the field. HPU out-rebounded CSU 23-14 in the first half and posted seven assists to the Buccaneers’ five at the break. Charleston Southern made 6-of-10 from three, while the Purple & White posted a 2-9 mark from behind the arc in the opening half. The Panthers trailed 29-26 going into the half.

Breannah Bretches led Charleston Southern with 19 points and four rebounds.

Up next, the Panthers will head to Clinton, S.C. to play Presbyterian on Saturday, Feb. 16. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.