Sophomores Jurica Hargraves and Mackenzie Maier combined for 38 points in a 74-69 heartbreaking loss to UNC Greensboro on Monday in women's basketball action. The Spartans' Lakiah Hyson connected on six-of-six from the line to seal the victory for UNCG.

Hargraves went 9-of-18 from the field including 3-of-7 from the behind the arc to score 22 points for the Panthers (1-3). Maier was 6-of-12 from the field for 16 points. Frances Fields added 10 points and had a team-high six assists. Hargraves also led on the boards, pulling down a game-high eight rebounds.

For the Spartans (1-3) five players scored in double figures with Hyson leading the pack with 19 points. Monique Floyd tallied 15 while Ashley Mullins had 12. Gini Grimsley and Agne Girstautaite both had 10.

The Panthers came out sluggish in the opening period as the Spartans took a 16 (27-11) point lead at the 12:10 mark. High Point would not go away though and battled back and went on a 17-5 run over the next seven minutes to cut the lead to five (33-28) off a jumper from Hargraves. The Spartans extended the lead back to eight with 3:28 to go, but the Panthers held UNCG to just one basket in the final minutes of the half. With 28 seconds to go LaTeisha Dean connected on a layup to cut the lead down to one. High Point fouled Girstautaite with six seconds remaining. She missed both shots as Maier pulled down the rebound and kicked it out to Fields who hit a three point shot just across mid-court to give HPU the, 40-38 advantage going into the break.

Coming out of the intermission the two teams battled back and forth as there were two ties and eight lead changes in the first six minutes. The Spartans then went on a little run and took a five point advantage, up 56-51 with 12:22 on the clock. High Point responded and took the lead back, up one with 9:17 to go. The Panthers extended their lead to seven (67-60) off a jumper from Ashlee' Samuels at the 6:34 mark. UNCG would answer, holding the Panthers scoreless over the next two minutes and took the lead back with just over four minutes left to play. With 42 seconds left the score was tied at 69. Hyson would score the necessary points for the Spartans from the charity stripe to clinch the win.

"We battled hard tonight to come back from down 16 in the first half," said HPU head coach Tooey Loy. "I'm proud of the effort we put in and our team was really able to get us in a position to win. Unfortunately the breaks just didn't go our way tonight."

The Panthers held the 42-37 advantage on the boards, but UNCG forced 18 turnovers while only coughing it up 14 times. Both teams posted 26 points in the paint, but UNCG held a big advantage on second chance points, 20-7.

High Point will take a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 29 when the team travels to Macon, Ga. for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off with Mercer.