HPU WBB Winning Streak Extends to Five as HPU Sweeps Campbell

Site: High Point, N.C. (Millis Center)
Score: High Point 73, Campbell 67
Records: HPU 7-4 (5-1 Big South), CU 5-4 (2-2 Big South)
Next HPU Event: Saturday, January 9, 2021 — at Winthrop (Rock Hill, S.C.) 3 p.m.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team pushed its winning streak to five games and made it two consecutive Big South sweeps with a 73-67 victory over Campbell University Tuesday evening (Jan. 5). Four Panthers scored in double digits for the fourth time this season, led by junior Jordan Edwards with 23 to match her career-best. All four times HPU has had four scorers with at least 10 points this season have resulted in wins for the Purple and White.

“I’m proud of how our girls competed tonight and last night,” head coach Chelsea Banbury said after her team’s second straight sweep in conference play. “Campbell is a good team that challenged us the whole time and it wasn’t easy. Our girls came out and battled and battled on the boards. It was obvious that Campbell wanted to pound the ball inside and I understand that they scored a lot in the paint, but they also had some turnovers doing it and our girls made plays when it counted. That’s not an easy team to beat so I’m very proud of what our girls did.”

High Point struggled offensively to start the game for the second night in a row, mustering only two points and going 1-6 from the floor in the opening five minutes before the media timeout. The Panthers were able to turn on the jets coming out of the timeout, connecting on six of their final eight shots of the quarter to end the first with a 50% shooting percentage.

Skyler Curran scored the opening points of the game for HPU’s only bucket of the first six minutes, followed by nine-straight by the Fighting Camels to give the visitors a 9-2 advantage at the timeout. The Panthers outscored Campbell 14-11 after that point, with all 14 of HPU’s points coming from the Edwards duo. Jordan Edwards knocked down a jumper at the elbow to end the scoring drought, followed by a triple from Jenson Edwards a minute later. Jordan added two more inside jumpers and Jenson knocked down one inside the arc and one behind the arc to cut the deficit to four, 20-16, after 10 minutes.

Campbell scored the first five points of the second quarter, almost extending its lead to double digits for the first time in the game. High Point wouldn’t let that happen and rattled off 10 straight as part of a 14-2 run to take the lead. Zaria Wright fought her way to the rim for an old-fashioned three-point play to start the run and knocked down another shot from the floor with a bucket from Jordan Edwards in the middle of her five points.

Wright’s second field goal pulled the Panthers within a basket and Cydney Johnson continued her hot hand from last night with a three-pointer to give the Purple and White a one-point lead, 26-25. The Fighting Camels got their one basket of the run on the next possession after Johnson’s three to regain the lead, but Johnson dialed one up from deep once again to return the lead back to the Panthers. Campbell took the lead once more before the quarter was over but High Point ended the half on a 6-0 run to flip its four-point deficit entering the quarter into a four-point lead at the break, 36-32.

Johnson continued her momentum from the second quarter into the third, scoring seven points in the first five minutes after halftime to give her 13 on the day, her second straight game in double digits and third such game in the last four. She knocked down two pairs of free throws in the opening two minutes before Campbell scored six straight to retake the lead. The teams then traded the lead with three-pointers, with Jenson Edwards and Johnson connecting on either side of a visitor triple to keep High Point’s lead at one, 46-45.

Campbell came back to take the lead just over halfway through the quarter on a layup and then a pair of free throws, but similar to the first quarter HPU responded with a 12-4 run to finish out the third and lead by as many as eight. Miya Bull played a key role in starting the run, grabbing a pair of offensive boards that led to second-chance points for Jordan Edwards. After a jumper for each of the Edwards duo, Bull’s persistence on the glass translated into offense as she scored four straight to push High Point’s lead up to six, 57-51. Jordan Edwards scored once more to complete the run but the Fighting Camels connected at the buzzer to cut the Panthers’ lead back down to six, 59-53, entering the fourth.

Neither team had much success from the floor early in the final quarter, with the first field goal coming almost four minutes in. Campbell hit a pair of free throws early and then found the hoop from inside the paint to make it a one-score game. The Fighting Camels made four more free throws in a row to tie it up and take the lead before HPU could answer with Curran breaking the seal midway through the quarter to even the game once more. Campbell took the lead once again but Jordan Edwards responded on the fastbreak to even it and Curran found her range from deep for the first time in the contest to give the Purple and White a three-point lead, 66-63, and give Curran 10 points on the night.

Almost two minutes elapsed before the next field goal was made, and it was Campbell getting out on the break to retake the lead for the third time in the quarter. Once again it was Jordan Edwards responding, taking the ensuing inbound coast to coast right past the Fighting Camel defense and to the hoop, drawing a foul in the process. Edwards made the free throw to give High Point a two-point lead, 69-67 – which the Panthers never surrendered.

Jordan hit two more free throws with 18 seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game and Jenson Edwards knocked down a pair with nine seconds showing to put the game out of reach and secure HPU’s second consecutive sweep in conference play and fifth-straight victory. Jenson finished second in scoring to Jordan with 18 points and led the team with four helpers in the game.

High Point heads back to South Carolina once again this weekend, traveling to Rock Hill for a pair of games at Winthrop. The teams are scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 9) and conclude the series on Sunday (Jan. 10) at 1 p.m.