Led by senior Candyce Sellars' 26 points, the High Point University women's basketball team dropped Liberty, 67-61 on Saturday in the Vines Center. The Panthers move into sole possession of first place in the Big South Conference and are the first Big South team to sweep the Flames during the regular season since UNC Greensboro during 1996-1997.

Sellars went 10-of-16 from the field and was 6-of-10 from behind the arc to lead the Panthers (14-8, 7-1). Her six three pointers tied a Vines Center record for number of threes by an opponent. Katie Ralls and Amber Manuel each added nine.

The Flames (14-9, 6-2) were led by Moriah Frazee with 18. Megan Frazee recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 boards while Rebecca Lightfoot added 11 points in the loss.

High Point came out firing in the first half with Sellars hitting three straight from behind the arc to give the Panthers an early 9-3 lead. Liberty kept the score close and took their first lead (10-9) since the opening minutes at 14:31 off a lay-up from Allyson Fasnacht. The Panthers went on another small run to pull ahead by five on a jumper from Ashlee Samuels at 11:51, but the Flames held the game close and were able to take the, 26-24 lead with 7:47 left in the half off a jumper by Moriah Frazee. The Flames would hold onto the lead for the rest of the opening period to go into the break with the three point advantage, 33-30.

Liberty came out strong in the second half to take their largest lead of the game, up by seven at the 17:41 mark when Roli-Ann Nikagbatse connected for three. High Point responded over the next 10 minutes going on a 23-9 run to take a seven point advantage (54-47) with 7:16 remaining when Manuel connected on a lay-up. The Flames refused to back down and a jumper from Megan Frazee made it a one possession game with just under two minutes to go. HPU had to fight solid defense from the Flames, but Ralls was able to hit a three pointer as the final seconds ticked of the shot clock to give the Panthers the 65-59 advantage with 36 seconds left. Liberty would get several looks from behind the arc but were unable to convert in the final seconds.

"This was a great team effort," said HPU head coach Tooey Loy. "We really struggled in the first half, but we never quit fighting. This is the first time in ten years that anybody has swept Liberty in the regular season which makes another first for our program."

The Flames dominated on the boards, pulling down 48 rebounds to HPU's 25. High Point shot 46.6-percent from the field, including 42.1-percent from long range.

High Point will return to the court on Tuesday, Feb. 13 when the travel to Radford. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in the Dedmon Center.