The High Point University women's basketball team rallied in the second half to outscore Gardner-Webb 42-23, but it was not enough as they fell 63-60 at Paul Porter Arena on Saturday in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Leading the Panthers (11-13, 7-4 BSC) was Mackenzie Maier with 15 points. Jurica Hargraves tallied 14 points while Shamia Brown and Frances Fields posted 11 and 10 points, respectively. Fields also had five steals in the game.

For the Bulldogs, Laura Povilonyte had a game-high 23 points. Margaret Roundtree posted 18 points and LaTroya Pope had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.

Gardner-Webb (13-11, 5-6 BSC) led by 22 (40-18) at the intermission, but the Panthers came out of the break with a 10-0 run in the opening four and a half minutes. HPU cut the lead down to 12 with 15:30 on the clock. The Panthers kept chipping away at the lead and pulled within three, 53-56 with 4:31 left in the game when Fields connected on a pair of charity shots. Roundtree scored for the Bulldogs on their next possession, but Maier countered with a three pointer on the other end to narrow the margin to two with 3:20 to go. Going into the final 30 seconds the Bulldogs held a three point advantage as High Point began fouling to get the ball back. GWU missed their free throws, giving the Panthers another chance, but a last second three from Hargraves bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.

In the opening period Gardner-Webb shot 52-percent from the field as they came out on fire in the first half, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc. The teams were tied at six all five minutes into the game, but GWU went on a 10-0 run to take a 16-6 lead at 11:56. High Point cut it back down to single digits with a pair of made charity shots by Hargraves, but that is as close as the Panthers would come to the Runnin' Bulldogs in the opening half. GWU outscored HPU 24-10 to close out the first half.

HPU held the 43-41 advantage on the boards. The Panthers forced 27 turnovers while turning the ball over 19 times.

The Panthers will be back in action on Monday, Feb. 16 when they travel to Radford for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.