WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 28 | 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Millis Center | High Point, N.C.
RECORDS: High Point (5-5), UNCG (5-8)
SERIES RECORD: 29th meeting, series tied 14-14
LAST MEETING: UNCG won 69-67 in overtime at High Point, N.C. on Dec. 30, 2016
VIDEO: SoCon Network
AUDIO: High Point Panthers Radio Network
LIVE STATS: UNCGSpartans.Com
GAME NOTES: HighPointPanthers.Com
 
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Coming off back-to-back thrillers against in-state foes, the High Point University women's basketball team takes on UNCG in the squad's final non-conference game of the regular season on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in Greensboro.
 
The Panthers moved to 5-5 on the year with a 75-69 victory over Western Carolina on Dec. 22. Four days earlier the team dropped a hard-fought contest to Davidson in a game that opened a stretch of three straight in-state non-conference foes.
 
QUICK HITTERS
• Kat Harris is averaging 19.0 points in HPU's four home games this season. The senior has hit 18-of-32 three-point attempts inside the Millis Center this season. That's compared to a 8.4 points per game and a .174 mark from three-point land in the squad's five road contests in 2017-18.
 
• Kennedy Currie is a burgeoning force in the paint for the Purple & White. The redshirt-junior has led the team in rebounding in six of the last seven games (8.6/game) and is averaging 1.7 blocks per outing during the same span.
 
• After the HPU starting five of Camryn Brown, Emma Bockrath, Lindsey Edwards, Shea Morgan and Currie along with top reserve Harris accounted for 93 percent of the minutes in the previous two games, the trio of Jiselle Thomas, Olivia VanSlooten and Taylor McGlashan were able to provide depth combining for 16 points and five rebounds in 40 minutes.
 
• During her first season as the team's main point guard, Brown leads the Big South with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
• HPU has assisted on 57.8 percent of its made field goals on the year. That's just behind the highest mark in the program's D-I era behind the 2010-11 squad's 60.4 percent mark.
 
• High Point has had at least one 20-point scorer in seven on 10 games going 3-4 in those contests as six different players have eclipsed 20 in a game. But despite all that firepower, the Purple & White have had six games with three of fewer double-digit scorers and are just 1-5 in such outings.
 
• HPU is the only Big South team with three players in the top-10 in scoring with Harris (4th), Bockrath (6th) and Brown (10th).
 
• The Panthers are 36-45 in away games under DeUnna Hendrix and 6-25 against non-conference foes away from the Millis Center.
 
• High Point is 3-2 coming off the Christmas break with Hendrix roaming the sidelines. The team won their first post-Christmas contests during her first three seasons - all Big South games - but have lost the last two including last year's setback to UNCG.
 
Winning the Long-Range Battle
• The Panthers rank 45th in the nation in three-point percentage defense (27 percent) with their new in-your-face style brought over by associate head coach Heather Kearney. Last year, the team allowed opponents to shoot 31 percent and ranked 144th.
 
• Offensively, the Purple & White are 17th in the country hitting 39.6 percent of their three-point attempts on the year. That, too, is an improvement on a program-record 35.7 percent mark in 2016-17.
 
All Kinds of Threats
• The Panthers had four different leading scorers in the first four games of the season.
 
• Six different members of the Purple & White have scored 20 points in a single game in 2017-18.
 
• Eight of the 11 Panthers to play in a game this season have posted a career-high scoring outing through the first nine contests.
 
Reserves Needed
• The Panthers are 4-1 when the bench outscores their opponent's reserves and 1-4 when that margin is reversed.
 
• HPU averages a 29-20 edge in its wins and a 19-15 deficit in losses. Harris has accounted for 57 of the 73 bench points in the team's five losses.
 
All-Time Series with UNCG
HPU had led the all-time series 14-12 before UNCG won the last two seasons to even the intra-Triad rivalry. Last year's meeting went to overtime in the Millis Center before the Spartans came out with a 69-67 victory.
 
Scouting the Spartans
UNCG is a sophomore-propelled team with second-year wings Nadine Soliman, Alexus Willey and Te'ja Twitty all in the top four in scoring. Meanwhile, Old Dominion transfer, Ije Ajemba averages 10.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest on the inside.
 
Matchup to Watch
Each of the past two meetings between these two foes featured a breakout performance by a Spartan guard. In 2015-16 it was Lucy Mason exploding for 42 points - including 26 after halftime. Last year, Soliman hit seven three-pointers en route to a 32-point outburst. Keeping tabs on the UNCG hot-hand will be key for High Point.
 
NEXT UP
High Point opens Big South play in the Millis Center on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. against Gardner-Webb.
 
#GoHPU