Site: High Point, N.C. (Qubein Center)
Score: High Point 60 (1-1), East Carolina 50 (0-2)
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Panthers defeated East Carolina 60-50 for their first regular season win of the season. The Panthers rallied from an early deficit of 7 points midway through the second quarter to outscore the Pirates 37-27 in the second half. The Panthers offense really shined in the third quarter when they shot 53.8% from the field and 66.7% from three-point range. Jaden Wrightsell led the Panthers with 15 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, to go along with 4 boards. Claire Wyatt and Cydney Johnson also got into double digits in the scoring column with 10 points apiece.
Chelsea Banbury: I’m really proud of how our girls responded tonight, coming off of a tough loss to Elon. We had two days to prepare for this game, they took the game plan seriously. We knew we had to take care of the ball and then we had to get in and block out and get some rebounds on the defensive end. For most of the game we handled our business on the boards, even turnovers wise we had a lot of charges so I would say we were probably under ten of live ball turnovers. They took the game plan seriously, they dug in, and defended. 1. I am really happy to get the win and 2. I’m just really proud of how we played.
Panther Particulars
The Panthers struggled shooting in the first quarter as the went 0-6 from three-point range and trailed 13-8 after the first quarter. However, they played strong defense and also held the Pirates to only 33.3% shooting from the field. The Panthers were able to respond in the second quarter as then outscored the Pirates 15-10 to tie the game at 23-23 heading into the break. Callie Scheier buried a three from the corner in the final seconds to tie the game after a dish from Wyatt.
Both teams broke out in the third quarter as their offenses came to life, especially with the Panthers as they shot 53.85% from the floor in the quarter. The Panthers found themselves down 37-31 before back to back 3’s by Cydney Johnson and Wyatt tied the game at 37-37. The Pirates took a two-point lead before another triple from Wyatt gave the Panthers the lead again in the seesaw third quarter. The Panthers ended the third quarter up 42-41.
After their offense awoke in the 3rd quarter, the Panthers defense rose to the occasion in the 4th quarter as they held the Pirates to 3-17 shooting from the field. The Panthers opened the quarter on a 6-0 run after a bucket from Johnson and the second triple of the game for Scheier to extend their lead to 48-41. The Pirates were unable to close the score within five points the remainder of the quarter and the Panthers were able to go 7-10 from the charity stripe down the stretch to win the game 60-50.
The Panthers held the Pirates to 31% shooting from the field and outscored the Pirates in the paint 30-20. The Panthers also caused 24 turnovers by the Pirates and had 9 steals on the night.
UP NEXT
The Panthers are back in action at home in the Qubein Center on Sunday, November 14th when they take on Mid-Atlantic Christian at 5 p.m.