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The High Point University women's basketball team exploded for 106 points in a 106-58 win over UNC Asheville on senior night in the Millis Center Sunday evening. The 106 points scored by High Point is a season high and the most ever scored by HPU against a Division I opponent.
With the win, the Panthers finish the regular season with a 15-14 overall record and a 9-7 mark in the Big South. UNC Asheville falls to 12-17 on the season and 5-11 in the Big South.
“We were just really good tonight,” head coach Tooey Loy said. “It started on defense, getting stops and getting on defense. We did a good job getting into transition and we made the easy plays. We got great looks all night and when we do that we have a chance to shoot well. We got enough shooters on this team that if we get good looks we are going to shoot the ball well.”
HPU set a new DI record with 18 three-pointers in the game, shooting 18-30 from behind the arc in the game to best the previous record of 14 threes which was set in 2006 against Charleston Southern. Seniors Amy Dodd and Mackenzie Maier each hit five three-pointers in the game. The team also set a new DI record with 30 assists on the night, besting the previous record of 27 set in 2008.
Freshman Cheyenne Parker recorded her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 21 points and 16 rebounds for HPU. Dodd finished with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds while Maier nearly had a triple-double, finishing the game with 15 points, nine blocks and eight rebounds.
Lindsey Thompson finished with 12 points to pace the Bulldogs. Lindsey Montgomery finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
High Point jumped out to a 25-10 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the first half, connecting on 10 of its first 14 shots. Dodd scored 11 of the Panthers 25 points, shooting 4-4 from the floor and 3-3 from behind the arc.
Following a UNC Asheville timeout, the Bulldogs pulled to within 13 on two free throws by Chioma Okoli, but HPU outscored Asheville 30-15 over the rest of the half to take a 55-27 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Panthers shot 55.3 percent (21-38) in the opening 20 minutes to post its highest scoring half of the season. Dodd finished the first half with 13 points to lead all scorers while Thompson led the Bulldogs with nine points.
High Point opened the second half with a jumper by junior Shamia Brown and three-straight three-pointers to push its lead to 34, 66-32, with 17:33 left in the contest. Maier hit the first shot from behind the arc and was followed by Dodd who connected on her next two attempts.
The Panthers hot shooting continued throughout the half as High Point built its lead to as large as 49, 104-57, with 2:24 remaining in the game. HPU shot 18-34 from the floor (52.9 percent) from the floor in the second half and 10-16 (62.5 percent) from behind the arc. Maier shot 4-4 from three-point range in the second half to pace High Point with 12 points.
Brown and sophomore Erin Reynolds joined Parker, Dodd and Maier in double figures for HPU, giving the Panthers five different players in double figures for the night. Brown had 16 points and eight rebounds in the game while Reynolds ended the night with 13 points and a team-high eight assists.
High Point's victory locks up the No. 4 seed for the Panthers in next week's Big South Women's Basketball Championship which HPU will host starting on Friday, March 11. The Panthers will face off against No. 5-seed Charleston Southern in the first round at 2:00 p.m. The two squads split their two meetings this season with each team winning on their home court.
