GAME INFO

Monday, December 7 -- vs. North Carolina Central (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 6 p.m.
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The High Point University women's basketball team continues its homestand with a pair of games this week, starting with the Eagles of North Carolina Central University coming to the Millis Center Monday evening (Dec. 7).
 

Matchup History

• Monday is the fourth meeting between High Point and North Carolina Central, with the Panthers taking each of the first three meetings in the series.
• Last year, the teams met at McDougald-McLendon Arena in Durham for the first time, with HPU taking the game in a decisive 78-58 victory.
• Junior Skyler Curran scored a career-high 31 points in the win a season ago and graduate student Miya Bull matched her career-high in rebounds after cleaning the glass for 14 boards.

 

Across the Bench

• NC Central is 1-1 on the year, with its lone victory coming in double overtime against Big South defending champion Campbell, 70-65 in Buies Creek.
• Trisha Stafford-Odom is in her fourth season leading the Eagles and last year led the team to 13 overall wins and nine in MEAC play - both program records.
• NCCU has four players averaging double-digits points early in the season, led by Kieche White with 21 in the season-opener at Campbell, and Anissa Rivera with an average of 16.0 PPG over the first two games.
• Rivera and White are also tied for the team lead in rebounding, with each averaging eight rebounds per game.
• Rivera was named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday (Dec. 1) after coming up with two key blocks in the final seconds of the Eagles' victory at Campbell, part of five blocks on the day to go along with her double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.

 

Panther Notes

Last Time Out

High Point dropped to 0-2 on the season on Wednesday (Dec. 2) after a 50-53 loss to Wofford. Curran notched her first double-double of the season, scoring 13 points to go along with her career-high 15 rebounds in the contest. Redshirt sophomore Jenson Edwards almost made it a pair of double-doubles in the game as she finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, along with five assists.
 

Up at the Top

Curran leads the conference in scoring with an average of 20.5 points per game, the only player to average north of 20 PPG.
 

Home Sweet Home

The Panthers are in the midst of a six-game homestand, with Monday and Wednesday being games two and three of the series. The stretch will last almost through the rest of the calendar year, including the first weekend of conference play against UNC Asheville on Dec. 19 and 20.
 

Foremost Facilitator

Edwards is tied for second in the conference in total assists with nine through the first two games of the season. She's also tied for second in the Big South in assist to turnover ratio (3.0) and assists per game (4.5).
 

Cleaning the Glass

Curran is currently second in the conference and 32nd in the country in rebounds per game, coming down with an average of 11.5 each contest. Looking at defensive rebounds only, she leads the conference and is ninth in the nation with an average of 10.5 DRPG.
 

They're Free for a Reason

HPU leads the Big South in free-throw percentage, connecting at an 86.2% clip from the charity stripe. That's also good for eighth in the country and the Panthers are one of just 21 teams across all of Division I to shoot above 80% from the line.
 

Double-Double Trouble

Curran recorded her first double-double of the season against Wofford after leading HPU with five double-doubles a season ago. Edwards and Bull also recorded a pair of double-doubles each in 2019-20.
 

Return to the MACC

High Point women's basketball returns to the Millis Athletic and Convocation Center for a 29th and final season in 2020-21. The Millis Center was built on the old foundation of Alumni Hall in 1992 and has served as the home of the Panthers since. HPU has experienced 24 winning seasons at Millis and the Purple and White have racked up a total of 269 wins in the building.
 

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 four 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 Camryn Brown who made 83 three-pointers during last year's campaign. Curran is just 60 points away from entering the program's top-20 Division I scoring ranks and could easily move into the top-15 this season.
 

The Quest for 200

The Panthers entered the season with 199 wins at the Millis Center in their D1 history and are looking to close in on milestone victory number 200 on Monday.
 

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 Monday in the top-40 in the country for triples per game with an average of 8.5 per game.
 
Three Point Club Make Total: 16
 
 

Up Next: High Point's is right back in action again on Wednesday (Dec. 9) when North Carolina Wesleyan comes to town for a 6 p.m. tip. The Panthers have a week off after facing the Battling Bishops, next taking the court the following Wednesday (Dec. 16) when former Big South rival Liberty returns to the Millis Center to close out non-conference play.
 
This women's basketball preview is presented by Beamer Tire and Auto.