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The High Point University women's basketball team cruised to a 69-37 victory over Belmont Abbey in an exhibition game to kick off head coach Jennifer Hoover's first season on Saturday at the Millis Center in High Point, N.C. The Panthers got 20 points from senior Shamia Brown and a double-double from junior Jazmin Cromartie.

Brown also posted seven rebounds and five steals. Cromartie scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds to tie for the team lead in boards with sophomore Cheyenne Parker, who had 10 rebounds and six points.

"I am proud of the effort we came out with here today," Hoover said. "We have talked alot about being more aggressive on defense and at times today we did that really well. We got into a little bit of foul trouble early but we made some adjustments. Jazmin Cromartie really came up big for us today. I just can't say enough about her performance."

Belmont Abbey was led by point guard Candace Fox, who scored 16 points to go along with four boards and three steals. Forward Melisa Foures led the Crusaders with eight rebounds and pitched in four points.

The game began at a slow pace with the score tied at 8-8 through the first 6:23 of play. The Panthers then scored seven-straight points capped by a short-range jumper from Jazmin Cromartie, giving the Panthers a lead they would hold on to the rest of the way.

Including the 7-0 run, High Point outscored Belmont Abbey 33-13 through the remainder to take a 41-21 first-half gap.  Brown scored 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in the first half, while Cromartie added eight boards and six points in the half.

The Panthers scored the first six points of the second half, including a layup and a jumper from Tayler Tremblay to continue a commanding lead. A three-point play by Belmont Abbey's Fox followed by a Paula Regaldo jumper made it 50-27 before HPU sophomore Lindsay Puckett hit a jumper near the arc. When HPU freshman Lexi Patterson hit a trey two minutes later, the Panthers led 57-27.

High Point continued to pull away in the closing minutes, the lead climbing to 34 (65-31) when Taylor Wimbish hit a layup under the basket as she was going out of bounds with under five minutes to play. Cromartie scored the last four points of the game to make it 69-37.

Hoover's first game as a collegiate head coach comes as the Panthers open the season next Friday, Nov. 11, at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. The game begins at 4 p.m. The Panthers are coming off a 16-15 (9-7 Big South) season with Brown the only returning starter. She is a Preseason All-Big South selection.