Box Score BOX SCORE

Junior Mackenzie Maier scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked seven shots to lead the Panthers to a 69-60 win over Winthrop Saturday afternoon in the Millis Center. With the win, HPU maintains a share of first place in the Big South with an 11-7 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the conference.

“I don't think we played our best basketball today but we got some individual performances that carried us,” said head coach Tooey Loy. “I thought we were a little sloppy, but at the same time we were able to do enough to win. To be a good team sometimes you have to find a way to win when you don't have your best and I don't think we had our best tonight.”

The 22 points scored by Maier was her highest total of the season and two short of her career best which she scored against Charleston Southern last season. It was the third time in the past five games that the junior has tied her own HPU DI single-game record with seven rejections.

“Not only did Mackenzie play great, but we did a great job of finding her in transition,” said Loy. “She got a lot of open looks off our break. Defensively, when we broke down Mackenzie did a great job of bailing us out by blocking some shots and taking away their points. She had some great rebounds late in the game when they missed and we needed a stop. It was a great performance tonight and probably as good as she has had since she has been here.”

Both teams struggled to score at the outset of the game as the defenses set the early pace and with just five minutes left in the first half to score was tied 17-17. High Point got on the board first with a jumper by Maier and twice opened a six point lead, but the Panthers couldn't shake WU. Two free throws and a layup by the Lady Eagles' TaQuoia Hammick tied the game at 17.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Maier and junior Amy Dodd broke the tie and sparked an 11-2 run by the Panthers to close the half, giving High Point a 28-19 lead at the break.

Maier led all scorers with 10 points at the break for HPU on 4-7 shooting including 2-3 from behind the arc. Hammick scored six in the half to lead Winthrop.

The Panthers still led by nine, 30-21 just over a minute into the second half when a jumper by Hammick started a 10-3 run which pulled the Lady Eagles to within three, 34-31, with 16 minutes remaining in the game.

Two three pointers by Maier and a jumper in the paint by sophomore Shamia Brown ended the WU run and pushed the High Point lead back to nine, 42-33, with 14 minutes left.

The HPU lead would fluctuate between six and 11 points throughout the rest of the game as Winthrop continued to hang around. The Lady Eagles pulled to within six, 64-58, with just over two minutes remaining but juniors Frances Fields and Jurica Hargraves combined to go five-for-six from the line down the stretch to seal the game.

High Point never trailed in the game. The Panthers shot 39 percent (23-59) from the field and held WU to just 31.1 percent (23-74) shooting in the contest.

Brown finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds and Fields scored 12 points and led the team with four assists, joining Maier as Panther scorers in double figures.

Winthrop's Shanice Cole scored 11 points in the second half and finished with a team-best 16. The Lady Eagles fell to 6-10 overall and 1-3 in the Big South with the loss.

High Point returns to action next Saturday, Jan. 23, when the team travels to Clinton, S.C., to face Presbyterian in Big South action. Tip-off against the Blue Hose is set for 5 p.m.