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• Junior Kaylah Keys paced the Panthers with 15 points including 11 in the first half.
• Sophomore Kat Harris chipped in with 10 points and three assists on the night.
• Freshman Emma Bockrath racked up nine points and six rebounds in the contest.
 
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In a tale of two halves, the High Point University women's basketball team built a 15-point first-half lead but couldn't hold on as Radford stormed back for a 72-57 win.
 
The Panthers (12-19, 10-10) owned the first 18 minutes of the contest earning a 35-20 lead with 1:45 left in the first half. However, the Highlanders (18-13, 13-7) answered with a 39-5 run to gain control and pull away for the victory.
 
"I thought we started the game well, but everybody knows 20 minutes isn't enough," head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. "Radford came out for the second half with a different mentality and showed they're a really good team. Credit to them, but we just didn't play a full 40 minutes."
 
Junior Kaylah Keys came out hot hitting three first-half three-pointers to rack up 11 points before the break en route to a 15-point outing. Likewise, sophomore Kat Harris recorded 10 points on the night with all of them coming prior to the break.
 
The Panthers earned a +1 edge in rebounding in the first half but the Highlanders posted a 44-32 margin on the glass. Radford's defense stymied the HPU offense with 11 blocks while allowing the Purple & White to shoot just 10-37 (27 percent) after the break.
 
On the wing, freshman Emma Bockrath added nine points and six rebounds in the setback. Off the bench, freshman Shea Morgan put up five points and six boards while redshirt-freshman Kennedy Currie tallied six points.
 
Hatfield drilled a three-pointer on the opening possession before Keys knocked down a pair of triples to give HPU a 9-3 edge at the 8:17 mark. The Panthers kept the pressure on hitting 7-15 from the floor and all five free throws to build a 22-11 lead after one quarter.
 
The good times continued to roll early in the second quarter as Harris banked in a three to give HPU a 25-13 advantage (7:53). From there, the lead swelled to 35-20 with 1:45 to play on Keys' third tree-pointer of the night.
 
However, the Highlanders scored the final seven points of the half to make it 35-27 at the break. Keys paced the Purple & White in the half scoring 11 points on 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
But Radford stormed out of halftime marking their first nine shots to extend their run to 35-4 and take a 55-39 lead (0:45). In the frame the Highlanders outscored the Panthers 28-5 by shooting 80 percent (12-15) while holding High Point to 14 percent (2-14).
 
The run continued in the fourth quarter as Radford scored the first four points to take a 59-40 lead (9:22). From there, the Purple & White fought back to within 13 points but couldn't get any closer as the Highlanders cruised to a 72-57 victory.
 
High Point wraps up the season with a 12-19 record overall, but loses just one senior in Aariel Allen.
 
#GoHPU