Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery

The High Point University women's basketball team improved to 8-0 in Big South play for the first time in team history with a 58-53 road win at Winthrop on Saturday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C. Sophomore Cheyenne Parker picked up HPU's first triple-double with 13 points, 22 rebounds and 10 blocks.

“Coming out on the road we made a point of being road warriors which starts with our defense dictating what happens on the court,” head coach Jennifer Hoover said. “We struggled on offense early as their zone made us a little passive. Our defense carried us through those struggles. To hold a team as high-powered as they are to just 53 points was huge. I am just so proud of the whole team up and down the board. It was a gut check and I thought we responded.”

Brown led HPU in the game with 24 points on 10-14 shooting while also grabbing 10 rebounds. The senior scored 15 of her 24 in the decisive second half. Parker scored 13 points, tied her own HPU Div. I record with a game-high 22 rebounds and blocked an HPU Div. I record 10 shots.

Winthrop's Duquesha McClanahan led the Eagles with 24 points, shooting 10-25 from the floor and 2-5 from behind the arc. She also had a team-high six assists and grabbed six rebounds. Diana Choibekova finished second on the team with eight points and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. The junior entered thegame as the nation's leader in three pointers per game but managed only two against the Panthers.

High Point improves to 13-6 overall and 8-0 in the Big South with the win. The 8-0 start to conference play is HPU's best-ever start in the Big South. The Panthers previously had started 7-0 in 2005-06 but fell to UNC Asheville, 51-50, in their eighth game. Winthrop drops to 10-10 overall and 4-4 in the Big South with the loss.

HPU struggled on the offensive end to open the game as the Panthers missed their first five shots and had four turnovers in the first four minutes of action. Brown scored High Point's only point in the early minutes with a free throw as Winthrop jumped out to an early 8-1 lead.

The Panthers trailed by nine, 24-15, after three-pointer by McClanahan with 5:32 remaining in the half when a jumper from the left elbow and a backcourt steal and layup by sophomore Tayler Tremblay cut the lead to just five. The baskets by Tremblay keyed an 11-3 run by the Panthers to close out the half, pulling HPU to within one at 27-26. Junior Erin Reynolds hit a three from the elbow and both Brown and Parker scored down low to pull High Point back into the game.

Reynolds and Brown both scored nine points in the opening 20 minutes to pace HPU while McClanahan led all scorers with 12 points for Winthrop.

High Point took its first lead of the game on the first possession of the second half when Reynolds found Parker down low for an easy layup and a 28-27 advantage. The lead would then swing back and forth over the next 10 minutes, changing hands nine times with neither team able to build a lead larger than three.

Trailing by three, 41-38, with 12:47 remaining, Cheyenne Parker scored with a jumper down low to start an 11-0 run for the Panthers which culminated with a layup by Brown to put HPU up eight, 49-41. Brown and Parker each scored twice in the paint during the run and Reynolds chipped in with a straight-away three.

A layup by WU's Samiya Wright ended the High Point run and started a 10-0 run for the Eagles which put Winthrop back up, 51-49, with four minutes remaining. Choibekova connected from behind the arc on back-to-back possessions for six of the Eagle's 10 points.

Three-straight free throws by Parker moved High Point back into the lead at 52-51 with 2:56 left in the game. Winthrop briefly retook the lead with a layup by Katie Fitzgerald off an inbounds but redshirt-freshman Lindsay Puckett answered back with a baseline jumper to make the score 54-53 with just under two minutes remaining.

The score stayed 54-54 until Brown sealed the game with 26 seconds left when Puckett found Brown down low where the senior converted the layup while being fouled and converted the free throw to give HPU a 57-53 lead. After a turnover by Winthrop, Reynolds hit one of two free throws to close out the 58-53 win.

Reynolds joined Brown in Parker in double figures with 13 points in the game. She also led the Panthers with three steals. Tremblay finished with four assists to pace HPU.

For the second-straight game High Point held an opponent averaging over 70 points to less than 60 as the Eagles entered the matchup averaging 70.7 points but managed just 53 on 20-65 shooting (30.8 percent). The Panthers limited Winthrop to just four three pointers in the game and forced 20 turnovers.

High Point will continue its road swing on Monday, Jan. 30, when the Panthers take on Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. A win over the Blue Hose would give HPU a perfect 9-0 record after one swing through the conference. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m.