GAME INFO

Wednesday, December 2 -- vs. Wofford (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 6 p.m.
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The High Point University women's basketball team opens a six-game homestand on Wednesday evening (Dec. 2) at 6 p.m. when Wofford College visits the Millis Center for HPU's 2020-21 home opener.
 

Matchup History

• This is the first-ever meeting between High Point and Wofford despite being located less than 150 miles apart and Wofford in the same town as fellow Big South school, USC Upstate.

 

Across the Bench

• Wofford finished 15-15 a season ago and has continued the .500 trend to start the 2020-21 season, entering Wednesday 1-1 on the year.
• The Terriers bested Big South opponent Winthrop 65-50 on the opening night of college hoops (Nov. 25) and lost by eight to the College of Charleston on Sunday, 61-69 (Nov. 29).
• Jimmy Garrity is the head coach of the Terriers, currently in his fifth season behind the bench in Spartanburg. Garrity led Wofford to a 16-15 record in 2018-19 for the program's first winning season since the 2001-02 season.
• Two Terriers average double-digit points on the year, led by junior Niyah Lutz with an average of 14.5 points per game. She's joined in double digits by freshman Helen Matthews, averaging 10.0 PPG through the first two games.
• Senior forward Jamari McDavid was the lone Wofford returner selected to the SoCon preseason All-Conference team this year. She's currently tied for the team lead in rebounding, grabbing an average of 7.0 boards per game.

 

Panther Notes

 

Last Time Out

High Point's opened its season on Sunday (Nov. 29) at North Carolina. The Panthers came out of the gates extremely hot, opening up a 21-point lead at one point and ending the quarter up 32-14. Junior guard Skyler Curran was the main reason HPU had such a large lead as she scored 22 of her game-high 28 points in the opening 10 minutes, including a 17-0 run by herself in the game. Ultimately, the Purple and White could not hold off the Tar Heels the rest of the way, losing the lead with just over three minutes remaining in the contest and ultimately falling 95-70 in a game much closer than the score might show.
 

Home Sweet Home

Wednesday's game starts a six-game homestand for the Panthers. It includes the remaining three non-conference games and the first series of conference play on Dec. 19-20 when UNC Asheville visits the Millis Center.
 

I'm Honored

Curran was High Point's second-leading scorer a year ago, and her success last season earned her the top spot on the Big South's preseason honor list, being named the conference's Preseason Player of the Year. Curran was second in Player of the Year voting last season and was on the First Team All-Big South – the team's only returning All-Big South player. Curran picked up four Big South Player of the Week nods a season ago, in addition to being named College Sports Madness' Player of the Week in the Big South four times as well.

Two-For-One

For the second straight season, Big South Conference play will see High Point play each team in a 20-game round-robin schedule. Differing from last year is the format, which will be back-to-back contests against the same opponent at the same location on consecutive days this year, as opposed to the traditional home-and-home format used last year. The Panthers begin their conference slate on Dec. 19 and 20 when UNC Asheville comes to town.

Return to the MACC

High Point basketball returns to the Millis Athletic and Convocation Center for one final year in 2020-21. The Millis Center - which was originally Alumni Hall - was built in 1957 and has housed the Panthers since the program started 10 years later. High Point comes into 2020-21 with 199 Division I wins at Millis and will look to pick up its 200th Wednesday night against the Terriers.

The 1K Club

Last season, Cam Brown was honored for becoming the 13th Panther in the
Division I era of High Point women's basketball to score 1,000 points after hitting the milestone at UNC Asheville (Jan. 9) and finishing her career with 1,305 career points, the sixth-most in HPU's Division I history and 14th-most in program history all-time. After scoring 490 points last season, Curran will look to join Brown this season as the 14th Panther to score 1,000 career points, entering Wednesday with 741 in her career.
 

Letting it Fly

After breaking the program record for three-pointers made in a single season last year, the Panthers continue to fire from deep, entering Wednesday with the fourth-most makes from behind the arc per game with 13.0.
 
Three-Point Club Make Total: 13
 
 

Climbing the Ranks

Curran entered the season with 137 career three-pointers made, good enough for eighth-most in the program's Division I history. She's already moved up to sixth place with 143 in her career and sits just five away from moving into fourth. Her 78 three-pointers made last season were the second-most in a single season for the Panthers, behind teammate Cam Brown who made 83 three-pointers during last year's campaign. Curran is just 73 points away from entering the program's Top-20 Division I scoring rank and could easily move into the Top-15 this season.

First Year Successes

In her first year as the program's fifth Division I head coach, Chelsea Banbury had record-breaking success, finishing the season with a 16-13 mark, going 14-6 in
conference play. Her 14 Big South wins were the most by a first-year head coach in HPU history. Redshirt sophomore Jenson Edwards also had a successful first year in 2019-20, being named to the Big South All-Freshman/Rookie Team and being honored twice as the Big South Freshman of the Week.

And Now for Our Opening ACCt

After traveling to Duke for its first game a season ago, High Point opened its season on the road against an ACC opponent for the second-straight season and fourth time in its Division I history as they traveled to Chapel Hill to play North Carolina on Sunday. It was the 24th time in the team's Division I history facing an ACC opponent and second time facing the Tar Heels, their first meeting taking place in 2013 when North Carolina was ranked No. 14 nationally.
 
Up Next: High Point's homestand continues with non-conference games against North Carolina Central (Dec. 7), North Carolina Wesleyan (Dec. 9), and Liberty (Dec. 16) before Big South action opens against UNC Asheville at the Millis Center on Dec. 19 and 20.
 

This women's basketball preview is presented by Beamer Tire and Auto.