Box Score BOX SCORE

The High Point University women's basketball team led through much of the first half against Arkansas before ultimately falling to the Razorbacks by a score of 82-63 at the University of Texas-El Paso Thanksgiving Classic on Friday night in El Paso, Texas. Senior Jurica Hargraves and sophomore Erin Reynolds led the Panthers with 13 points on the night.

“We had a lapse to start the second half and that is all it takes when you play a really good team which is what Arkansas is,” head coach Tooey Loy. “We turned it over which led to them going on a pretty good run. I was proud of the way we battled back in the last 10 minutes. We can take a lot of good things from this but you never like losing.”

High Point opened the game hot from behind the arc, connecting on four of its first five three pointers to take an early 14-11 lead over the Razorbacks with in the first eight minutes of action. Hargraves hit three of the Panthers four three pointers for an early nine points.

HPU continued to stymie Arkansas despite being outrebounded by a 18-6 margin and with eight minutes left in the half, High Point still possessed an 18-16 lead. The Panthers forced six turnovers in the first 12 minutes of action to limit Arkansas.

Coming out of the under-eight minute timeout, the Razorbacks began to take control of the game with a 7-0 run to jump ahead 23-18. Ashley Daniels scored with a layup on a second chance and after a shot by High Point's Amy Dodd rimmed out, Julie Inman connected on a three, forcing an HPU timeout.

The Panthers refused to fold against the Arkansas pressure as Hargraves hit two free throws and senior Frances Fields connected on a three to tie the game at 23-23 with just under five minutes left in the half.

HPU trailed by just two, 30-28 before the Razorbacks closed the half with a 10-6 run to take a 40-34 lead into the break. High Point finished the half shooting 6-8 from behind the arc which helped the Panthers offset a 27-10 deficit on the boards.

Arkansas used a full-court press to open the second half on a 24-6 run to take a 64-40 lead with 11 minutes left in the game. The Razorbacks forced eight High Point turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half to take control of the game.

High Point would use a 10-2 run in the final three minutes to make the final score 82-63 on the evening.

The Razorbacks controlled the game in the paint, outscoring HPU down low, 52-14. Daniels and Sarah Watkins led all scorers in the game on the night with 17 points each for Arkansas. Daniels also grabbed 11 rebounds in the game to record a double-double.

With the loss, High Point falls to 3-3 on the season while the Razorbacks improve to 6-0.

The Panthers will return to the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 4:30 p.m., Mountain Time to play Idaho State in the consolation game of the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic. It will be the first ever meeting between HPU and Idaho State.