Box Score BOX SCORE

Playing in her home state for the first time as a High Point Panther, sophomore Erin Reynolds scored a career-high 20 points for the High Point University women's basketball team in an 89-57 loss to No. 10-ranked West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday evening.

"It was very difficult to simulate their strength and athleticism in practice and it shocked us in the first half," said head coach Tooey Loy. "I was pleased with how we were able to make adjustments and responded as the game went on. I felt like we played a good second half. We never like to lose, but I felt like the team got better executing our offense against a top-10 caliber team."

Reynolds came off the bench to shoot 8-12 from the floor and 2-2 from behind the arc to lead the Panthers in scoring for the third time this season.

High Point struggled on the offensive end to start the game, missing its first five shots and turning the ball over twice against the swarming WVU defense as the Mountaineers took a 7-0 lead four minutes into the game.

Coming out of the first media timeout, senior Jurica Hargraves connected on a three to give High Point its first points of the game. A layup by Reynolds pulled HPU to within two at 7-5 with just under 15 minutes left in the half, but West Virginia responded with a 17-2 run to go up, 24-7, with just under nine minutes left in the period.

A jumper and two free throws by senior Frances Fields and a layup by senior Mackenzie Maier got the Panthers within 13 at 26-13 with five minutes left. The Mountaineers slowly reopened the lead to 22, 45-23, at the half, outscoring the Panthers 19-10 in the final five minutes. Reynolds scored all 10 of HPU's points in the final five minutes, shooting 4-4 from the floor.

Reynolds led HPU with 12 points at the break while Taylor Palmer came off the bench to lead all scorers with 14 points for West Virginia. Palmer went 4-7 from behind the arc for 12 of her 14 points.

The Panthers came out hot in the second half, outscoring the Mountaineers 8-4 in the first two minutes of the second half as Maier connected on a layup and both senior Amy Dodd and junior Shamia Brown connected from behind the arc. The opening run pulled High Point to within 18 at 49-31.

Eighteen points was as close as High Point would get as West Virginia outscored HPU, 23-8, over the next 8:20 to extend its lead to 33, 72-39, with just over nine minutes left in the game. After opening up the half shooting 3-5 from the floor, High Point shot just 3-12 during the WVU run.

Two free throws and a lay-up by Reynolds curtailed the West Virginia run, but the Panthers were unable to pull closer than 28 over the rest of the game, ultimately falling by a score of 89-57.

Fields was second on the Panthers with eight points, going 6-6 from the free throw line and Maier finished with six points and five blocks. The 57 points scored by the PAnthers is the second-highest total scored against West Viginia this season.

Palmer led WVU with 22 points in the game, going 6-10 from behind the arc while Asy Bussie and Brooke Hampton each scored 14. HPU limited West Virginia's top two scorers, Madina Ali and Liz Repella, to a combined 19 points, 11-below their season average.

High Point drops to 4-5 on the season with the loss while the No. 10-ranked Mountaineers improved to a perfect 8-0.

High Point will return to North Carolina to take on UNC Greensboro in a meeting between regional rivals on Tuesday, Dec. 7. High Point beat the Spartans 75-63 in the Millis Center last season. The contest wraps up a seven-game road trip for the Panthers. Tip-off at the Fleming Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.