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The High Point University women's basketball team used a late run to pull away and pick up its sixth-straight win with an 80-65 victory over Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon in the Millis Center. Sophomore Cheyenne Parker set a new HPU Div. I record with 22 rebounds in the game to go along with 14 points and a career-high eight blocks.

“We had a bit of a gut check in the second half, but I think we responded really well to that,” head coach Jennifer Hoover said. “They made a run and had us back on our heels a little but we were able to answer. We changed up our defense and got them out of their rhythm and at the same time I think that helped us find our offense and push the tempo a bit more.”

Parker's 22-rebound performance is the first 20-rebound game in HPU Div. I history. The center had previously tied the school's Div. I record with 18 rebounds against Liberty on Jan. 7. Parker's double-double was her conference-leading 11^th of the season. Her eight blocks were two-better than her previous career-high.

Reynolds led all scorers in the game with 25 points on 10-21 shooting, eclipsing the 20-point mark for the third time in the last four games. Reynolds also had a career-high 10 assists in the win for her first career double-double. The junior was a menace on the defensive end, finishing one steal shy of the HPU Div. I single-game record with a career-high nine in the game.

Junior Laura Whitt and senior Shamia Brown also scored in double digits for the Panthers as Whitt set a new career high with 15 points and Brown finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Shatia Cole finished the game with 20 points to lead all Coastal scorers while Kayla Cook finished with 14 points and AJ Jordan finished with 12.

The win was High Point's sixth-straight to start Big South play. The Panthers improve to 11-6 overall and 6-0 in the Big South. The start is HPU's best since 2005-06 when the Panthers opened Big South play with a 7-0 record. Coastal Carolina falls to 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big South with the loss.

Coastal held a slim 10-9 lead six minutes into the game when Reynolds hit a three-pointer from the left elbow and long jumper from almost the same spot to put the Panthers up four, 14-10. The back-to-back buckets started a 22-4 run by High Point to take a 31-14 lead. High Point forced five turnovers during the run, including four steals by Reynolds, to take control of the game.

Three-straight buckets by Cole and a three by Olivia Irick pulled CCU back to within 10 at 31-21 with 6:42 left in the half, but the Panthers immediately responded with a 10-3 run over the next 4:08 to reopen a 17-point lead at 41-24. Redshirt-freshman Lindsay Puckett scored all six of her points for the game during the run.

High Point still led by 16, 44-28, in the closing seconds of the first half when Cook hit a running three at the buzzer to make the score at halftime 44-31. Reynolds scored 16 points in the opening 20 minutes to lead all scorers. Cook finished the half with a team-high 10 points for CCU.

The two teams traded baskets through the first 10 minutes of the second half and with 10 minutes remaining in the game High Point still led by 12, 61-49. Coastal began to pull back into the game over the next six minutes, outscoring High Point, 14-7, to pull to within four, 67-63, on a layup by Cole with 4:18 remaining.

Free throws by Reynolds and Brown pushed the lead back to six as High Point sealed the game in the final four minutes, outscoring CCU, 13-2, down the stretch to pick up the 15-point win. Reynolds had four points and four assists in the closing minutes for High Point.

The HPU defense forced 21 turnovers in the game and had a season-high 19 steals. The nine steals by Reynolds was the most by an HPU player since Narelle Henry set the school's Div. I record with 10 against Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 24, 2001.

High Point will attempt to match its best-ever start to Big South play on Monday, Jan. 23, when the team welcomes Charleston Southern to the Millis Center. The Panthers went 2-1 against CSU last season including a 77-49 win over the Lady Buccaneers in the Big South quarterfinals. Tip-off for the game is set for 7 p.m.