Box Score BOX SCORE

Junior Amy Dodd (Apex, N.C./Apex) scored 15 points, including 11 in the second half, and had four steals as the High Point University women's basketball fell to Wake Forest, 76-52, Wednesday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Panthers trailed by just eight with about eight minutes remaining before the Demon Deacons pulled away for the win.

“I thought we strarted sluggish and we weren't ready to play at the level Wake Forest plays at,” said head coach Tooey Loy. “Once we got going though, we were very good. We gave Wake Forest a scare. We cut the lead to eight with about eight minutes to play. We played about 25 minutes of good basketball but to compete against a team like this you need to play 40 minutes. We will take a lot of good things from this but are still discouraged about the loss.”

HPU shot 38.9 percent (21-54) in the game and were just 2-12 from behind the arc. The Demon Deacons shot 44.4 percent (28-63) including a 6-12 mark from three-point range.

Senior Ashlee' Samuels (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) set new season highs with nine points and a team-best six rebounds and juniors Mackenzie Maier (Charleston, W.Va./Charleston Catholic) and LaTeisha Dean (Virginia Beach, Va./Green Run) each added seven points for High Point in the loss. WFU controlled the glass in the game, outrebounding the Panthers 50-23 in the game.

Wake Forest jumped out to an early 9-2 lead as HPU struggled to execute its offense against a physical Demon Deacon defense. The Panthers' lone basket in the opening minutes came off a steal and layup by Dodd on a WFU inbounds attempt.

With HPU trailing by eight, 12-4, Maier scored five straight points with a three and a long jumper and Dodd added a layup to draw the Panthers to within one, 12-11.

Wake Forest responded to the HPU burst with a 22-7 run of its own to open a 16-point lead, 34-18, with one minute remaining in the half. High Point scored the final four points of the half with a layup by sophomore Shamia Brown (Raeford, N.C./Hoke County) and a jumper by freshman Erin Reynolds (Beckley, W.Va./Woodrow Wilson) but the team headed to the locker room still trailing the Demon Deacons by 12, 34-22. 

Maier led HPU with seven points at the half while Reynolds chipped in six for the Panthers. WFU freshman center Sandra Garcia scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in the opening stanza to lead Wake in both categories.

Dodd extended the Panther run to seven straight with an old-fashioned three-point play to open the second half as Apex, N.C., native stole a Wake Forest pass and scored a breakaway layup while being fouled. The junior hit the free throw to complete the play and pull HPU to within nine. 

A jumper and free throw by junior Frances Fields (Sumter, S.C./Sumter) trimmed the WFU lead to six, 34-28, before six-straight points by the Demon Deacons built the lead back to 12.

The two teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes as the Wake Forest lead fluctuated from eight to 12 points. Dodd scored eight points while also grabbing two steals and Samuels added six points down low as the Panthers continued to hang around.

With seven minutes remaining, the Demon Deacons finally managed to pull away, finishing the game on a 20-4 run to pick up the 76-52 win. 

Garcia continued to cause HPU problems, scoring eight points in the final minutes to finish with 27 in the game. The freshman also led both teams with 16 rebounds in the contest.

With the loss High Point falls to 2-2 on the season. The Panthers return to the court in one week when they travel to Columbia, S.C., to play the Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina on Dec. 2. The game will tip off at 11 a.m.