Box Score BOX SCORE

Freshman Erin Reynolds scored a career-high 18 points but the High Point University women's basketball team fell, 66-60 Monday night in Charleston, S.C. The Panthers led by eight with nine minutes left but were outscored 24-10 down the stretch.

“They made big shots and we missed quite a few easy ones in the last two or three minutes,” head coach Tooey Loy said. “This was a game in which we let them hang around and get back into it and when you do that anything can happen in the last two minutes. I am disappointed with how things went on this road trip but we will get back in the gym this week and work and get things going again.”

Reynolds set new career highs in both points, with 18, and steals, with five. The freshman also led the team with four assists in the loss.

Charleston Southern took the early lead, jumping out to an 11-4 lead before Reynolds scored four straight points to pull High Point to within three, 11-8, with 15 minutes left in the half. Reynolds scored her first basket off a steal in the backcourt before going coast-to-coast off a block from junior Mackenzie Maier for her second tally.

After a Charleston Southern layup pushed the lead back to five, 13-8, Maier connected on a jumper in the lane and sophomore Shamia Brown hit a lay-up to make the score 13-12 with a little under 12 minutes left in the half.

The Charleston Southern lead fluctuated between one and four points for the next five minutes until back-to-back layups by Maier and junior Amy Dodd tied the game at 18-18 with seven and a half minutes left in the period.

Junior Jurica Hargraves gave High Point its first lead of the game, 25-24, with 2:18 left in the half with an old-fashioned three point play. Hargraves drove down the left side and sank the layup while getting fouled and connected on the free throw to put the Panthers up one.

HPU led by one, 27-26, with 20 seconds left in the half when Reynolds drove down the court, used a screen at the top of the key to get into the lane and hit a 10-foot jumper to send the Panthers into the locker room with a 29-26 advantage.

After starting 8-25 (32 percent) from the floor, HPU hit five of its last nine shots in the period to take the three-point halftime lead. Reynolds led all scorers at the break with 10 points while Maier chipped in with a team-best six rebounds and four blocks. The Buccaneers were led at the half by guard Katie Tull with nine points.

Six minutes into the second half the High Point lead remained three, 38-35, when a three-pointer from behind the men's line tied the game at 38-38. The Panthers quickly responded with a runner from the right side by junior Frances Fields and a long jumper from the left elbow by Maier to take a 42-38 lead, forcing CSU to call timeout.

The Panthers led by just two when Reynolds and Hargraves connected on back-to-back threes to give HPU an eight-point lead, 50-42, with just under nine minutes in the game, forcing a timeout by the Buccaneers.

Coming out of the timeout, Charleston Southern went on a 16-5 run to take a 58-55 lead with just under three minutes left in the half. Hargraves ended the run by the Buccaneers with a three from the left elbow tying the game at 58-58 with two minutes left.

After three free throws by the Buccaneers put CSU up three, 61-58, with 26 seconds left, Reynolds drove the length of the court, spun past a defender and hit a lay-up to make the score 61-60 with 18 second left.

Following an HPU timeout, the Panthers fouled CSU's Kelsey Wasmer who hit both free throws to give Charleston Southern a 63-60 lead with 17 seconds left.

Reynolds took the inbounds, dribbled down the court and used a pick by Maier to shed her defender before launching a three. The shot fell just short, the Buccaneers grabbed the rebound and Tull hit a three at the buzzer to give Charleston Southern the 66-60 win.

Hargraves scored 13 points and Brown added 12 to join Reynolds in double figures for the Panthers. Maier finished with seven blocks, tying her own HPU Division I record for the fourth time in conference play.

Tull finished with a game-high 25 points to lead the Buccaneers with 16 coming in the second half.

HPU falls to 13-10 overall and 6-4 in the Big South with the loss while Charleston Southern improved to 13-10 overall and 5-5 in the Big South.

The Panthers return home for their next four games, starting with a showdown against current Big South leader Gardner-Webb on Saturday. Tip-off for the game against the Running Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. High Point lost the first meeting between the two teams, 67-56, in Boiling Springs, N.C.