Box Score BOX SCORE

The High Point University women's basketball team rode a tremendous defensive effort to a 57-45 win over Winthrop on Saturday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C. The Panthers held Winthrop to just 29.5 percent shooting to pick up the conference win.

“This was a great team performance today,” head coach Tooey Loy said. “We really held them in check for a full 40 minutes defensively. It is great that we were able to come down here, not shoot the ball well and still were able to control the game for most of the second half. Shamia Brown and Mackenzie Maier both played great in the post and Cheyenne Parker really came up big for us in the first half.”

Junior Shamia Brown led all scorers on the day with 18 points to go along with six rebounds for the Panthers who improve to 13-13 overall and 7-6 in the Big South with the win.

Ashley Cox scored 15 points on her senior night for Winthrop who falls to 12-14 overall and 5-8 in conference play.

High Point opened the game shooting just 3-11 from the field and 0-4 from three-point range but with 9:45 left in the first half senior LaTeisha Dean got free for a layup to start a 13-0 run by the Panthers, putting HPU up by eight, 20-12, with six minutes remaining in the half. Sophomore Erin Reynolds had five points in the run and freshman Cheyenne Parker chipped in with four.

The two teams traded baskets over the final minutes of the half with High Point carrying a seven-point advantage, 29-22, into the locker room. Brown finished the half with a team-high 10 points for HPU while Ashley Cox led all scorers for Winthrop with 12 points.

The Panther lead was nine, 42-33, with 14:33 left in the contest when HPU managed to rattle off seven-straight points to build its largest lead of the game at 16, 49-33, with 10 minutes left in the game. Reynolds and seniors Mackenzie Maier and Amy Dodd each scored for High Point in the run.

A 10-2 run by the Eagles pulled Winthrop back to within eight with 4:23 left in the game, but Maier managed to draw a foul on a three pointer on HPU's next possession and sank all three free throws to bring the High Point lead back to 11 at 54-43 and end the Winthrop threat. High Point would limit Winthrop to just two free throws for the rest of the game to pick up the 57-45 win.

High Point continued its run of strong defensive games, limiting Winthrop to just 45 points on the day while forcing 20 turnovers and blocking 13 shots. Maier finished the game with eight blocks, leaving her just nine shy of tying the Big South career record of 272 which is currently held by Radford's Kelli Darden. Maier also tied Reynolds for the team lead with four steals in the game.

“This team is really buying in on the defensive end,” Loy said. “They are learning that every possession counts. I feel like we only had one or two possessions today where we had a defensive breakdown and that is a sign of a really good game on the defensive end.”

Dodd and Maier joined Brown in double figures with 10 point each while Maier also led the team with four assists. Parker pulled down eight rebounds in just 19 minutes of action to lead HPU on the boards.

High Point wraps up the road portion of its schedule on Monday, Feb. 28, when the Panthers head to Conway, S.C., to face Coastal Carolina. High Point is looking for the season sweep after winning the first meeting with the Chanticleers by 14 points, 80-66, at the Millis Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.