GAME INFO

Saturday, December 19 -- vs. UNC Asheville (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
 
Sunday, December 20 -- vs. UNC Asheville (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
 
High Point University women's basketball (2-3) begins the Big South portion of its schedule this weekend (Dec. 19-20) with a pair of games against UNC Asheville (1-4).
 

Matchup History

• High Point and UNC Asheville have met 46 times in High Point's Division I history, making the Bulldogs HPU's most-played opponent in the Big South.
• The Panthers hold a commanding 34-12 lead in the series, with an 18-5 mark at the Millis Center.
• The teams split the series last year, with the home team winning each. They were scheduled to meet again in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic before the game could be played.

 

Across the Bench

• UNC Asheville is 1-4 on the year, with its lone win coming over Western Carolina in a 70-59 victory on the opening day of the season.
• The Bulldogs have one common opponent so far with the Panthers, as Asheville lost to Wofford 76-50 four days after the Terriers defeated HPU by three.
• Asheville is led by first-year head coach Honey Brown, who is in her ninth season with the Bulldogs. She previously served as an assistant coach and associate head coach under former Bulldog bench boss Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick Brown.
• Senior Nadiria Evans leads Asheville's attack, averaging 18.4 points per game to sit second in the Big South. She hits her shots at a 55.7% clip for the third-best shooting percentage in the conference.
• Kai Carter cleans the glass for the Bulldogs, collecting an average of 7.2 rebounds each game. Carter is also second on the team in scoring, with an average of 12.2 PPG.

 

Panther Notes

 

Last Time Out

High Point dropped a contest to Liberty earlier this week, falling 76-66 to the former Big South opponent. Redshirt sophomore Jenson Edwards led the way with 19 points, followed by juniors Skyler Curran and Jordan Edwards, each with 15. Senior Chyna McMichel led the effort on the glass, grabbing a season-high eight rebounds against the Lady Flames.
 

Battle of the Best

This weekend sees the top two scorers in the Big South go head to head, as scoring leader and HPU junior Curran (20.6 PPG) and the Panthers host UNC Asheville and the conference's second-leading scorer, Nadiria Evans (18.4 PPG).
 

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. 
 

Nifty Newcomer

Freshman Claire Wyatt was named the Big South Freshman of the Week on Monday (Dec. 14), becoming the first Panther to win a weekly award from the conference this season. She scored 20 points across the two games, with a career-high 11 points against NC Central on Monday, and grabbed a career-best seven rebounds on Wednesday against Wesleyan. She also picked up a pair of steals in both games, making it three straight games the freshman has recorded multiple steals.
 

Two at the Top

Curran is tied for the lead in the conference in scoring and is 49th in the nation with an average of 20.6 points per game through the first four games of the season. Teammate Jenson Edwards joins her in the top-five in the conference, sitting fourth with an average of 16.2 PPG.
 

Home Sweet Home

The Panthers close out their long homestand of six games this weekend, heading on the road again for the first time since the season opener when they'll travel to USC Upstate on Dec. 30 and 31 to finish out the calendar year.
 

Scoring at Will

High Point's offense was on fire last week, with the offense scoring 195 over the two games, the most points scored in any two consecutive games in program history. The 66 points scored this past Wednesday give HPU a total of 261 in its last three games, a record for any three consecutive games as well. The Panthers will need 74 points on Saturday to set the record for four consecutive games and will need 143 over the two games to break the record for five games.
 

Mind the Margins

HPU is the only team in the Big South with a positive scoring margin entering the weekend, scoring an average of 4.2 points more than the Panthers' opponents this season.
 

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, and moved up to fourth place with 154 in her career after draining nine last Wednesday. Her 78 three-pointers made last season were the second-most in a single season for the Panthers, behind teammate Camryn Brown who made 83 three-pointers during last year's campaign. With Curran's 15 points on Wednesday, she has moved into 20th place on HPU's D1 scoring list with 816 career points, nine away from taking over 19th.
 

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 in the top-15 in the country for three-pointers attempted, three-pointers made, and three-pointers per game. HPU makes an average of 11.0 long balls per game, good for eighth in the country, while the Purple and White's 55 total makes on 165 attempts rank 12th and 13th, respectively.
 
Three-Point Club Make Total: 55
 

Ball Movement

The Panthers lead the Big South in assist to turnover ratio, dishing out an average of .88 assists to each turnover.
 

Foremost Facilitator

Jordan Edwards leads the conference in assists per game, dishing out an average of 6.5 helpers each contest, putting her 10th in the country.
 

A Better EDucation

Jenson and Jordan Edwards are both in the top-three in the Big South in three different assist categories. Jordan leads the Big South in total assists and assists per game with 25 and an average of 6.5 while Jenson sits in third in both categories with 21 total assists and an average of 4.2 APG. Jenson leads the conference in assist to turnover ratio with a 2.1 mark while Jordan is second with a ratio of 2.0, making High Point the only team in the conference with two players in the top-five in assists.
 

You Don't Make It, She Takes It

Curran leads the conference in defensive rebounds per game, snagging an average of 7.6 opponent misses off the glass per game.
 

Getting Their Money's Worth

HPU took 40 free throws last Monday and converted on 30 of them. That's tied for the second-most attempts in school history and four shy of matching the record for makes. Nationally, the 30 makes are the sixth-most in all of Division I. On the season, High Point shoots 79.6% from the stripe to sit second in the conference and 20th in the country.
 

Up Next: High Point is off until the final two days of 2020 (Dec. 30-31) when the Panthers hit the road for the first time in a month to face USC Upstate. Both games are scheduled for 2 p.m. tips at the G.B. Hodge Center in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
This women's basketball preview is presented by Beamer Tire and Auto.