GAME INFO

Friday, January 15 -- vs. Gardner-Webb (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 6 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch Link Coming Soon (ESPN+) | Game Notes
 
Saturday, January 16 -- vs. Gardner-Webb (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 4 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch Link Coming Soon (ESPN+) | Game Notes
 
The High Point University women's basketball team (9-4, 7-1 Big South) is back in action this weekend in the Millis Center with a pair of games against Gardner-Webb University (4-7, 4-2 Big South). The series was originally scheduled to be played in mid-February but was moved up to this Friday (Jan. 15) and Saturday (Jan. 16) as part of COVID-related Big South rescheduling efforts.
 

Matchup History

• High Point and Gardner-Webb have met 32 times since the Panthers joined Division I, with HPU holding a 19-13 advantage in the series.
• It's been an even series as of late, with both teams winning five of the last 10 meetings between the two schools, running the conference record to 13-11 in favor of High Point.
• The teams traded sweeps in the previous two seasons, with the Purple and White winning both games during the 2018-19 campaign and the Runnin' Bulldogs taking both last season.
• Gardner-Webb is the only Big South opponent that HPU head coach Chelsea Banbury has yet to defeat.

 

Across the Bench

• Gardner-Webb is 4-7 on the season, with all four of its wins coming in Big South play.
• The Runnin' Bulldogs enter the weekend on a two-game winning streak in Big South action after picking up a pair of wins at Charleston Southern.
• GWU is one of the best teams in the country at stealing the ball, with 132 total steals for an average of 12.0 per game to lead the conference and put the Runnin' Bulldogs fourth in the nation in total steals and 12th in steals per game.
• Jhessyka Williams is the only Gardner-Webb player to average double-digit points per game, dropping in an average of 10.9 each contest.
• Williams is also one of the best at swiping the ball in the nation, entering the weekend leading the Big South and seventh in the country with 32 steals for an average of 2.91 per game that puts her 31st in the nation while also leading the conference.
• Alasia Smith is the Runnin' Bulldogs leading rebounder, grabbing an average of 8.5 boards each contest to sit third in the Big South.

 

Panther Notes

Last Time Out

High Point pushed its winning streak to seven after taking both games at Winthrop this weekend. Four Panthers scored in double digits on Saturday, led by redshirt freshman Cydney Johnson with 16. Junior Skyler Curran led the way on Sunday, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds to lead the team in both categories. HPU's defense was dominant against the Eagles, holding Winthrop to 84 total points in the two games and shooting under 30% in both games, the first time that's happened in back-to-back games since the 2018-19 season.
 

Going Streaking

The Panthers' seven-game winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest in program history and is two shy of the program record of nine straight wins, set twice and most recently in the 2011-12 season. Nationally, High Point's streak is tied for the 14th longest active streak among all Division I women's basketball programs. The Purple and White have also won their last seven Big South contests on the road dating back to last season, tied for the second-longest such streak in team history and one away from matching the program record.
 

So FRESH and So Clean

Johnson was named the Big South's Freshman of the Week on Monday (Jan. 4) after starting all four games last week for her first collegiate starts and scoring in double digits in three of the four games. She joins freshman Claire Wyatt as the only Panthers honored by the Big South in its weekly awards so far this year as Wyatt was named the Freshman of the Week on Dec. 14.
 

How Sweep It Is

HPU has now swept Big South opponents three times in a row after taking both games at Winthrop. The Panthers and Longwood are the only Big South programs to record multiple sweeps in conference play so far this season.
 

5-0 with Four in Double Digits

Saturday's game marked the fifth time that HPU has had four players score in double digits in the same game when Johnson, redshirt sophomore Jenson Edwards, Curran, and Wyatt crossed the 10-point threshold. All five times that the Purple and White have had four scorers in double digits have resulted in wins, with an average winning margin of 19.4.
 

Playing in the Palmetto State

High Point has already made two conference trips to South Carolina this season and is scheduled to make two more before the season is over. The Panthers swept USC Upstate and Winthrop, and are scheduled to travel to Presbyterian and Charleston Southern later in the year to make it four out of the five road trips in the Palmetto State.
 

Thanks, Captain Obvious

While it may seem obvious that you're more likely to win when you shoot better than the other team, High Point has yet to lose a game when it finishes with a better shooting percentage than its opponent. The Panthers are 9-0 when outshooting their opponents and are 0-4 when the opponent fills it up better than HPU.
 

Second-Half Shutdown

The Purple and White clamp down defensively when they enter the second half with a lead, entering Friday 8-1 when leading at halftime. The Panthers have yet to lose a conference game when trailing at the break, going 6-0 with a halftime lead and coming from behind at halftime just once after trailing by five to Campbell in the first game of the series.
 

Seven Days a Week

High Point has played a game every day of the week except for Friday during the 2020-21 season. That will change in the second half of conference play, as all of the remaining six series are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
 

Everything Gets Better When the Sun Goes Down

HPU is 6-2 when playing games at night this season, including a 4-0 mark in Big South action once the sun has set.
 

Nothing but NET

Jan. 4 marked the debut of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) for women's basketball as the contemporary sorting tool used to measure a team's quality and help evaluate team resumes for selection and seeding in the NCAA Tournament. The NET rankings have been used in the men's games since the 2018-19 season and have been modified for the women's game starting this year, replacing the RPI ranking. High Point was initially ranked 227 in the first NET rankings of the season and moved up to 205 after the sweep of Winthrop.
 

SHOOTER!

Jenson Edwards is second in the conference and 45th in the country in three-point shooting percentage, connecting on 45.0% of her shots from behind the arc.
 

Steph Curry or Skyler Curran?

Curran is in the 5 in the country for three-pointers made and attempted this season. She's thrown up 93 shots from behind the arc - the third-most in the country - and has connected on 36 of them, the fourth-most in Division I and most in the Big South.
 

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 Friday in the top-15 in the country for three-pointers attempted, three-pointers made, and three-pointers per game. HPU makes an average of 9.8 long balls per game, good for 15th in the country, while the Purple and White's 127 total makes on 382 attempts rank second and first, respectively, in all of Division I.
 

...In a No-Fly Zone

High Point is one of the best teams in the country in defending the three-pointer, entering Friday leading the conference and in eighth place in all of Division I by allowing just 21.9% of opponent's three-pointers to fall.

Three-Point Club Make Total: 127
 

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, moved up to fourth place with 154 in her career after draining nine against NC Wesleyan on Dec. 9, and now has 173 in her career. With Curran's 29 points in the series against Winthrop, she enters Friday in 16th place on HPU's D1 scoring list with 918 career points, 33 away from taking over 15th and 82 shy of becoming the 14th Panther to score 1,000 points since High Point joined Division I.
 

Foremost Facilitator

Junior Jordan Edwards leads the conference in assists per game and is second in total assists, dishing out 49 assists so far on the year for an average of 4.1 helpers each contest, putting her 24th in the country in total assists. Jenson Edwards is right behind her in total assists with 48, the 29th-most in the nation.
 

Ball Movement

The Panthers are second in the Big South in assist to turnover ratio, dishing out an average of .86 assists to each turnover. High Point is also second in the conference in total assists with 159 on the year, good enough for 41st in the country, and is third in assists per game, with an average of 12.2 each game as a team.
 

A Better EDucation

Jenson and Jordan Edwards are both in the five in the Big South in three different assist categories. Jenson leads the conference in assists to turnover ratio (1.92) and is third in total assists (48) and is fourth in assists per game (3.7). Jordan is second in the conference in assist to turnover ratio (1.75), total assists (49) and assists per game (4.1).
 
 
Up Next: High Point heads back out on the road in South Carolina next weekend, traveling to Presbyterian for games on Friday (Jan. 22), and Saturday (Jan. 23). Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. in the series finale on Saturday.
 
This women's basketball preview is presented by Beamer Tire and Auto.