High Point placed four players in double figures to defeat Charleston Southern tonight, 87-63 and clinch the #2 seed in the Big South Tournament.

The Panthers (18-8, 9-4 Big South) were led by Big South Preseason Player of the Year Katie O'Dell with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Junior Leslie Cook added 15 on 5-of-7 from three point range while Tonya Tripp had 15 on 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Freshman Jennifer Long rounds out the double figure scoring with a career high 14 points.

For the Buccaneers (7-19, 1-12 Big South) Keena Wicker had 14 points on 7-of-12 from the field. Erica McCoy added 11 while Shaunte Small had 10.

High Point started the game strong with Cook hitting back-to-back three pointers before CSU got on the board with a lay-up by Wicker. The Buccaneers kept it close until the 8:54 mark when Caitlin Thys hit a lay-up to spark a 23-5 HPU run to close out the half and send the Panthers into the break with a 46-18 lead.

The Panthers dominated the second half and had the largest lead of the game 66-36 with a lay-up and free throw shot from Thys. Charleston Southern outscored the Panthers 45-41 in the second half but it was not enough to overcome the first half deficit.

High Point was 14-24 (58.4%) from three point range. The Panthers also held the advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Bucs 45-39.

With tonight's win High Point has clinched the #2 seed going into the Big South Tournament which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 7 with the first round games being held at the higher seeds.

The Panthers will wrap-up the regular season on Friday, March 3 at Winthrop. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Game Note: Sophomore guard Raven Truslow has informed the HPU coaching staff that she has decided to transfer for the 2006-2007 season. She has been dismissed from the team. Truslow averaged 7.6 points per game this season and 3.8 rebounds. She was a member of the Big South All-Freshman Team last season.