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First-year head coach Jennifer Hoover picked up her first career home win on Friday night in the Millis Center as the High Point University women's basketball team opened the home portion of its 2011-12 schedule with an 82-69 win over Davidson College. The Panthers used a late 26-9 run to turn a one-point lead into an 18-point lead and seal the win.  

"I was really excited to come back to the Millis Center and play in front of our home crowd," Hoover said. "I was proud of our kids because at times it wasn't pretty but we were able to grind it out and when our backs got up against the wall we were able to turn up the heat on the defensive end. We talk about our conditioning being an advantage and the confidence that gives us and tonight that really proved true." 

Three players finished tied for the team lead in scoring as senior Shamia Brown, junior Erin Reynolds and sophomore Cheyenne Parker all had 18 points in the victory. Parker shot 7-9 from the floor and 4-5 from the line.  She grabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and had a season-high 6 blocked shots. Reynolds tied her career high in assists with a team-best eight in the win. Sophomore Tayler Tremblay also finished in double figures on the night with 11 points. Davidson's Sophia Aleksandravicius led all scorers in the game with 22 points to go along with 12 rebounds.

High Point shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the floor and 69.6 percent (16-23) from the line.  The Panthers held Davidson to 46.8 (29-62) percent shooting in the game and just 38.2 (13-34) percent in the second half.  The Panthers forced 24 turnovers on the night and had 17 steals with a team-best four coming from Brown.

The win improves High Point's record to 2-1 on the season while Davidson falls to 1-2. It was HPU's first win over the Wildcats since 1983 and its first in three tries during the HPU Div. I era.

The game was one of runs, especially in the first half as the momentum swung between the two squads. High Point used a 14-4 run midway through the first half to turn a 17-6 lead into a 31-20 advantage with a little over five minutes remaining before halftime, but the Wildcats came right back with a 16-6 run of their own to pull back within one at 37-36 with just 47 seconds left in the half. A free throw by Reynolds and a layup by Parker pushed the HPU lead back to four, 40-36, at the half.

Davidson came out hot to start the second half and used a 12-4 run to take a four-point lead, 48-44, with just under 16 minutes left in the game. The lead would prove to be the largest of the game for the Wildcats as HPU responded right back with four-straight points on a jumper by Tremblay and a layup by Parker to tie the game at 48-48 with 14:45 left to play.

Neither team was able to pull ahead by more than two for the next three minutes until a three by junior Laura Whitt with 11:25 to play sparked a 26-9 run by the Panthers that concluded with a layup by Brown to put High Point up 77-59 with 4:15 left in the game. Parker had eight points during the run while Brown had six. 

Davidson managed to use a 10-2 run late in the game to pull within 10 points at 79-69 with 17 second remaining, but could not get back within single digits as sophomore Taylor Wimbish finished the game with an old-fashioned three pointer, connecting on a fast-break lay up while getting fouled and scoring the resulting free throw to make the final score 81-69.

The Panthers will continue their four-game home stand on Sunday, Nov. 20, when the team will host the Longwood Lancers at the Millis Center. The game will mark the third in five days for HPU. Last season, High Point pulled out a slim 68-65 win on the road in Farmville, Va., behind 17 points by Brown and 11 by Reynolds. Tip-off at Millis is set for 2 p.m.