Box Score BOX SCORE

The High Point University women's basketball team cruised to an 85-43 win over Presbyterian College Monday at the Millis Center. The Panthers had four players in double-digit scoring led by Shamia Brown with 17 points.

HPU outscored Presbyterian College 47-12 in the second half, limiting PC to just 4-24 shooting. The Panthers forced 11 second half turnovers and blocked six shots. High Point outrebounded the Blue Hose 27-13 following halftime and held PC to just four offensive boards in the period. It was the fifth time in six games that HPU has held an opponent under 60 points.

“I thought we had just a great second half here tonight,” head coach Tooey Loy said. “We really picked up our energy defensively in the second half. I was disappointed at the half with how we were performing on the defensive end and got after them a bit at halftime. The team really responded and that was probably the best half of defense we have played all season.”

High Point moves to level on the season with the win, improving to 12-12 overall and 6-5 in the Big South. Presbyterian falls to 8-16 overall and 4-7 in the Big South with the loss.

The Panthers never trailed in the first half, leading by as much as nine on a free throw by Brown with 10 seconds left in the half. Presbyterian's Sherece Smith scored an easy layup to cut HPU's lead to 38-31 at the break. Brown and Cheyenne Parker each put up nine points in the half with Parker adding seven rebounds and a block. Mariah Pietrowski led the Blue Hose with 10 points in the half.

The Panthers opened the second half with a 14-2 run, extending the lead to 52-33. The Blue Hose turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions and had seven turnovers overall in the first 3:30 of the second half, allowing HPU to score 12 of the 14 points off turnovers. Senior LaTeisha Dean scored six points in the run.

The HPU lead continued to grow, reaching 42 points with just under three minutes left in the game. The Blue Hose did not hit a shot from the field in the final 9:42 of the contest, scoring just three points off free throws for the rest of the game.

Parker set a new career high with 17 rebounds to lead all players. The 17 boards is the second-highest single game total in HPU's Division I era, one shy of the Panthers' record of 18 set by Amber Manuel in 2007. Parker also finished the game with nine points and a team-high five blocks.

Senior Amy Dodd finished the night with 12 points while Dean and freshman Tayler Tremblay each chipped in 11 points. Tremblay's 11 points are the most scored by the freshman since putting up 14 against Southern Virginia in the third game of the season.

Pietrowski finished the game with 16 points for the Blue Hose who next return home to host Winthrop on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m.

High Point will have a week off before the team travels to Gardner-Webb on Monday, Feb. 21 for a 7 p.m. game. The Panthers dropped the first meeting between the two teams, 62-54, at the Millis Center. Parker recorded a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds in the loss.