Box Score BOX SCORE

The High Point University women's basketball team had a chance to tie the game against Georgia in the final seconds but a three-pointer by senior Jurica Hargraves rimmed out, allowing the Bulldogs to escape with a 66-61 win on Sunday in Athens, Ga.

High Point possessed the ball under its own basket down three, 64-61, with just 13 seconds left in the game. Senior Frances Fields found Hargraves with an inbounds pass but the contested three-pointer from the corner missed and Georgia hit two free throws at the other end to secure a 66-61 win.

“I thought we really battled for 40 minutes and made all the plays necessary to beat a top-25 team,” head coach Tooey Loy said. “The shots just didn't fall for us in the final two minutes to finish it off. We are getting better as team every game. This is one of our best performances as a team and hopefully we will carry this over into conference play.”

Hargraves, senior Mackenzie Maier and junior Shamia Brown all scored 13 points to lead HPU in the game.

The Panthers opened the game shooting 5-5 from the field and 4-4 from behind the arc to take a 14-7 lead after the first four minutes of action. Hargraves hit two three pointers while Maier and Fields each hit one from behind the arc.

Georgia slowly chipped away at the lead with a 12-4 run over the next four minutes to go up 19-18. HPU responded right back at the other end as Maier again connected from downtown to put HPU back up by two, 21-19.

A 10-1 run by UGA gave Georgia its largest lead of the first half at seven, 32-25, with just under seven minutes remaining but the Panthers came back with a 11-3 run of their own to retake the lead at 36-35 with less than two minutes left in the period.

Georgia would score the final four points of the half on a three-pointer and a free throw to take a 39-36 lead into the break. HPU shot 50 percent (12-24) from the field from the first half and went 7-10 from three-point range. Hargraves and Maier each scored 11 points in the opening period.

Georgia opened the second half on a 6-2 run to match its biggest lead of the game with a 45-38 advantage four minutes into the period. High Point struggled from the field after halftime, shooting 0-8 to open the half until Hargraves connected on a short jumper to pull HPU to within five, 45-40.

High Point refused to allow the Bulldogs to pull away, keeping the deficit between two and seven points throughout the second half. The Panthers' defense hounded Georgia, holding UGA to just nine field goals and forcing 11 turnovers. Brown scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half to keep HPU in the game.

Maier became the fourth High Point player in the school's Division I era to eclipse 1,000 points for her career early in the contest with a three pointer, her third of the game. She is the only the second player to reach both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. The only other player to accomplish the feat was Katie O'Dell who currently holds the HPU Division I record in both categories.

High Point falls to 6-6 on the season with the loss while Georgia improves to 8-2.

The Panthers return to action on December 29th when they travel to Statesboro, Ga., to wrap up their non-conference season with a game against Georgia Southern. Tip-off for the contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.