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The High Point University women's basketball team fell on the road to No. 22 Vanderbilt by a score of 70-54 on Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn. The Panthers rallied to within seven in the second half before falling by 16.

Sophomore Cheyenne Parker led HPU in the contest with 19 points and 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double in seven games this season. Parker shot 7-14 from the floor and 5-8 from the line. The center also had four blocks, three assists and two steals.

“I thought we came out a little sluggish and didn't execute early,” head coach Jennifer Hoover said. “We tried to score on the initial side and were taking some tough shots before we figured out if we reserved the ball it was opening up easier shots. Our kids laid it all on the floor today and left everything out there. We came out with a great attack in the second half and really got back in the game.”

Three other HPU players finished in double figures as senior Shamia Brown had 13 points and both junior Laura Whitt and sophomore Tayler Tremblay had 11. Two days after tying the HPU Div. I single-game scoring record junior Erin Reynolds was held without a point, but did lead the team with four assists. Vanderbilt's Christina Foggie led all scorers in the game with 26 points for Vanderbilt.

High Point moves to 4-3 on the season with the loss while Vanderbilt improves to a perfect 9-0.

High Point and Vanderbilt traded baskets in the first minute of play before a three by Foggie started a 17-2 run for Vandy that put the Commodores up by 15, 19-4 with 12:30 left in the first half. Parker scored High Point's lone points in the run with a put back off an offensive board as the Panthers opened the game shooting just 2-11 from the floor.

A jumper by Tremblay cut into the Vanderbilt run, but High Point was unable to pull any closer than 13 points for the rest of the half and went into the locker room down 17, 32-15, at the break. The Panthers shot just 6-31 from the floor in the first half, but did manage to force 15 Vanderbilt turnovers to keep the game within reach.

Parker led HPU in the opening 20 minutes, finishing the first half with nine points and nine rebounds. Foggie led the Commodore attack with 13 points in the half.

High Point began the second half with a 10-2 run in the opening 2:19 to pull within nine at 34-25, forcing a timeout by the Commodores. Junior Laura Whitt connected twice from behind the arc and Tremblay picked up a back court steal and lay up to force the timeout.

Out of the timeout, High Point continued to apply the pressure as Whitt found Brown with a long pass on a fast break off a Vandy miss to extend the run to 12-2 and pull High Point to within seven at 34-27.

High Point trailed by eight, 44-36, with 11 minutes left in the game when the Commordores' Tiffany Clarke connected on a jumper to push the lead to 10 and start a 9-0 run by Vanderbilt. Foggie scored five-straight points after back-to-back steals, extending the Vandy lead back to 17 at 53-36 with nine minutes remaining.

High Point still trailed by 17, 59-42, with a little under four minutes remaining when Whitt and Tremblay connected on three pointers on back-to-back possessions to pull back within 13 at 61-48. The 13-point deficit would be as close as High Point would get though as a three pointer by Jasmine Lister extended the lead back to 16.

The Panthers shot 15-29 from the floor in the second half including 5-8 from behind the arc, outscoring Vanderbilt 49-48 in the closing 20 minutes. HPU also outrebounded the Commodores in the second half, 16-14.

High Point is off for the next two weeks before returning to action against Georgia State on Dec. 19 at the Bahamas Classic in Nassau Bahamas. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.