ESPN3 Link | Game Notes (PDF)

HIGH POINT, N.C. - The second-seeded High Point University women's lacrosse team will play for its third Big South title in four years Saturday when the Panthers take on No. 1 Winthrop at Eagle Field.

First draw of the championship contest between the Panthers and Eagles is set for noon. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3, with live stats also available via winthropeagles.com.

PAW PRINTS
• In addition to the Big South crown being on the line, HPU also will play for its third NCAA Tournament berth in the last four years on Saturday.

• High Point is 2-0 all-time in the Big South championship game. The Panthers won at Davidson (9-7) in 2013 and upended the Wildcats at home (11-6) in 2014.

• Last time out, the Panthers improved to 3-1 all time in Big South semifinal action with a 19-6 victory over Campbell on Thursday. HPU jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held a 13-3 edge at the half. The Panthers held a large advantage in shots (27-16) and posted an excellent 4-of-5 mark (.800) from the free position.

• The victory also upped HPU's record to 8-1 all time in Big South Tournament contests.

• Defensively, the Panthers forced 12 Campbell turnovers and held the nation's No. 2 goal scorer Loren Day (3.72) to zero in the contest. HPU also limited the country's No. 10 scoring offense (19.78 points/game) to just 10 points in the contest.

• The Panthers were bolstered offensively by a pair of 6-point efforts. Junior Samantha Brown tallied three goals and three assists on the night while sophomore Erica Perrotta chipped in two goals and registered a career-high four assists.

• The win over Campbell improved High Point to 4-0 all-time as the Big South Tournament's No. 2 seed. HPU swept two games at Davidson as the No. 2 seed in 2013 en route to an NCAA berth.

• HPU tied a season-high with 12 assists against the Camels. The Panthers average a Big South best 7.2 assists per game in 2016. That average also ranks fifth best in the nation. HPU leads the conference and is fourth nationally in points per contest (21.1).

• With two goals against the Camels, senior Allie Foard became the sixth player in program history to reach the 100-goal milestone. Fellow senior Emily Meier is four goals away from 100. Foard (100g, 35a) and Meier (96g, 60a) are two of nine players in program history to score 100 career points.

• Meier - who currently has 156 career points - needs two more points to pass Sarah Kuhlman (2011-14) and move into third place on the all-time HPU points list.

• Kristina Renner has 50 draw controls this season and needs three more to surpass her program record of 52 set in 2016.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH WINTHROP
HPU has won four of the first six women's lacrosse meetings between the Panthers and Eagles. Winthrop has won two of the past three, including a 14-13 triumph in Rock Hill on Apr. 25.


LAST TIME THEY MET
The Panthers and Eagles went back and forth all game long, most intensely during an extremely competitive second half that featured five lead changes. HPU held a 12-11 edge with 15:30 to go, but the Eagles scored three of the game's last four goals to earn the victory and claim the Big South regular season title. Erica Perrotta (3g, 1a) and Samantha Brown (2g, 2a) led the Panthers offensively while Samantha Herman scored two goals and grabbed a team-high four draw controls.

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES (19-2, 8-0 BIG SOUTH)
Winthrop is a program-best 19-2 this season and has won its last 11 games. The Eagles have not lost since March 16. WU won its quarterfinal game over Presbyterian, 18-2, and got by Coastal Carolina (8-4) in the semifinals Thursday. Winthrop is an excellent defensive team, ranking in the top-5 nationally in scoring defense (6.33 GAA) and caused turnovers per game (12.19). WU is anchored by Big South Co-Defensive Player of the Year Alaina Girani, who is second nationally in save percentage (.542) and third in goals against average (6.1). First Team All-Big South selection Shannon Gallagher leads the team in goals (57) and and points (78) and ranks in the top-10 nationally in caused turnovers/game (3.14) and ground balls per contest (3.00). She also has registered 48 draw controls in 2016.

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