GAME INFO

Monday, March 8 -- vs. USC Upstate (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 6 p.m.
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The top-seeded High Point University women's basketball team (19-6, 17-3 Big South) begins its quest for a Hercules Tires Big South Women's Basketball Tournament title against No. 8 seed USC Upstate (8-14, 5-11 Big South) Monday evening (March 8) in the Millis Center.
 

Matchup History

• Monday will be the eighth meeting between High Point and USC Upstate, with the Panthers coming away victorious in each of the first seven.
• The last three in the series have come in Spartanburg, with HPU taking both of them to close out the 2020 calendar year this season, 60-52 and 70-48.
• Monday will also be the first meeting between the two teams in the Big South Tournament, leaving Hampton and Longwood as the only two teams the Panthers have yet to face in the postseason.

 

Across the Bench

• Upstate finished the regular season 7-14 with a 5-11 mark in conference play to enter the tournament as the No. 8 seed.
• The Spartans were part of the only first round game in the tournament this year and defeated No. 9 seed Charleston Southern 72-64 to advance to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
• Upstate is third in the Big South in total rebounds, grabbing a total of 853 so far this season. The Spartans are also third in assists and assists per game, dishing out a total of 271 helpers for an average of 12.3 each contest.
• Three Spartans average double-digit points per game, led by Denijsha Williams at 12.7. Right behind her are McKinley Brooks-Sumpter and Molly Coleman at 10.7 and 10.4 PPG, respectively.
• Brooks-Sumpter was the only Spartan to receive recognition in the Big South yearly awards, being named to the All-Freshman team.
• Jada Logan and Coleman are neck-and-neck for the team lead in rebounds, averaging 6.3 and 6.2 RPG, respectively.
• Coleman is also one of the top shot blockers in the Big South, swatting a total of 26 shots on the season to rank third in the conference while her average of 1.18 blocks per game is fourth.

 

Panther Notes

Last Time Out

High Point ended its regular season with a split against Longwood. The Panthers won the first game on Senior Night 84-26 before falling in the final game of the regular season 69-85. Four Panthers scored in double digits both nights, with the loss being the first time this season the Purple and White have lost a game when four or more Panthers score in double digits.
 

Conference Champs!

Before the Longwood series, High Point clinched its third Big South regular-season championship and first since 2014, ending the season with a 17-3 mark in conference play.
 

Lucky No. 7

With High Point's 2021 Conference Championship, the Purple & White have won their three conference championships every seven years since their first in 2007 - winning in 2007, 2014, and 2021. 
 

Cream of the Conference

On Friday (March 5), junior guard Skyler Curran was named the Big South Women's Basketball Player of the Year, the second year in a row that HPU has had the Player of the Year. Curran finished the regular season second in the conference in scoring average and leading the way in total points with 446, the 18th-most in the country.
 

Banbury: Big South's Best Bench Boss

Head coach Chelsea Banbury was rewarded for leading HPU to its third conference title this season by being named the Big South's Coach of the Year. The 17 wins in conference play are the third-most any Big South school has won in the conference's history. Banbury became the fifth HPU coach to win the award and the first since 2014.
 

Hey Now, You're All-Conference

Curran's award made her a First Team All-Conference selection, one of two All-Conference citations High Point received. The other was a Second Team All-Conference nod to redshirt sophomore Jenson Edwards. Edwards finished fifth in the conference in scoring and reached the double-digit mark in all but five games this season.
 

So Fresh and So Clean

A pair of freshmen also received year-end recognition from the Big South as Claire Wyatt and Cydney Johnson were both named to the All-Freshman team. Wyatt took home four Big South Freshman of the Week awards over the course of the season, the second-most this year and fourth-most in HPU history, while Johnson added one weekly award.
 

History Made

With the win over Longwood in the first game of the series, High Point set a program record for the most wins the Purple and White have had in conference play in a single season since joining Division I with 17. With 19 total wins on the year, the Panthers are only three wins away from matching their D1 record for wins of 22, set in 2013 and matched in 18-19.
 

Tourney Time

HPU is 18-20 all-time in the Big South Tournament and has yet to win a tournament title. The Panthers only have two wins since falling in the 2015 championship game, most recently defeating Presbyterian in the 2018 quarterfinals. High Point is 2-2 as the No. 1 seed, losing in the quarterfinals in 2007 before falling in the championship game in 2014, both times to Winthrop.
 

Thanks for the Memories, Millis

Each game the Panthers play could be the final basketball game played at the historic Millis Center as HPU will move into the brand-new Qubein Arena beginning next season. High Point has enjoyed plenty of success in the Millis Center since it opened in 1992, racking up a total of 279 wins in 391 total games for a .714 winning percentage in the building. The Mills Center has seen 25 winning seasons at home out of a possible 29 and will host its 15th Big South Tournament game on Monday.
 

It's Bo Time Y'all

This year marks the final year of the Hercules Tires Big South Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments being hosted on campus sites for the foreseeable future as the conference reached an agreement with Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte to host both tournaments there beginning next year.
 

Playing to Completion

High Point was able to play the maximum of 25 games in the regular season, getting every scheduled game in throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. Not every team was as lucky, as the Panthers are one of just 30 teams to have played at least 25 games in all of Division I this season, including teams that have already begun conference tournaments.
 

Thank You Seniors

Before Thursday's game against Longwood, High Point honored the three seniors that will be graduating and starting their careers this spring. Recognized prior to the game were graduate student Miya Bull, senior Chyna McMichel, and redshirt junior Zaria Wright.
 

Final Seconds Frenzy

Curran's game-tying and game-winning free throws against Hampton came with just five seconds left on the clock. This was the first time HPU has won a game in the final five seconds since Camryn Brown hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to defeat Presbyterian in the Big South Tournament on March 9, 2018, and just the second time the Purple and White have won a game that late in the last five years.
 

Player of the Week Sweep on Repeat

On Feb. 15 for the second time in as many weeks, High Point swept the Big South weekly honors with Curran and Wyatt winning Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, for the second straight time. HPU is the only team to sweep the honors multiple times this season. 
 

No Place Like Home

After playing six straight road games, the Panthers returned to the Millis Center for the first time in 34 days to host Hampton Feb. 19-20. The 34-days were the third longest-stretch in program history without a home game. HPU now holds a 9-3 record at home as it welcomes Longwood for its final regular-season home contests of the season.
 

Ball Security

The Panthers' five turnovers against Radford (Feb. 12) were tied for the fewest in D1 program history and are the fewest committed against another Division I program in team history. High Point's 13.4 turnovers per game are the fewest in the Big South and 54th in the country.
 

Deft Distribution

HPU totaled 24 assists in the win over Longwood last Thursday (Feb. 25), the sixth time the Panthers have dished out at least 20 assists in a game and the 10th such time under coach Banbury. Coupled with the six assists, the 4.0 assist to turnover ratio is tied for the best this season and second-best in program history.
 

Nifty Fifty

HPU's second win against Radford (Feb. 13) was Banbury's 50th game at the helm of the Panthers, compiling a 32-18 record in the half-century of contests. That's the most wins in a head coach's first 50 games in High Point's D1 history and the third-most wins through 50 games among all 10 coaches in program history.
 

Bracketology Breakdown

Both ESPN and College Sports Madness currently have High Point slated as a 15 seed in their bracketology projections. ESPN's most recent projection has the Panthers taking on Maryland while College Sports Madness forecasts HPU taking on Baylor. The entirety of the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament will take place in San Antonio, Texas with first round games on March 21 and 22.
 

Road Warriors

With back-to-back sweeps to close out conference contests on the road, the Panthers won nine Big South games away from home - the most in program history. The .900 conference road winning percentage is also the best in HPU's D1 history while the lone loss is the fewest since joining the conference in 1999.
 

TGIF 

High Point's loss to Longwood last Friday (Feb. 26) was the only loss the Panthers suffered on the final day of the workweek, going 5-1 on Fridays on the year.
 

Walk the Plank!

HPU went 5-0 against swashbuckling opponents last season, sweeping the conference series with the Hampton Lady Pirates and the Charleston Southern Buccaneers and picking up a non-conference win over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. With this year's sweeps of Charleston Southern and Hampton, the Panthers are now 9-0 against such foes under Banbury. Dating back to her time as a player and assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast, head Banbury is now 24-3 all-time against swashbuckling foes.
 

Big Number Bonanza

The Panthers' 88 points against Charleston Southern (Feb. 5) were the third-most scored in a game for HPU this season and the second-most against a Division I opponent on the 2020-21 schedule. It was the 20th time the Purple and White put up 85+ points in a Big South Conference game while the 23-point margin of victory is tied for the third-largest this season and was the 50th time HPU has beaten a conference opponent by 20 points or more.
 

DECAdent Dishes

Jordan Edwards had a career-high 10 assists earlier this season against Charleston Southern (Feb. 5), becoming the first player in the Big South to register double-digit assists in a single game this season, later matching it in the win over Longwood. Edwards became the first Panther to accomplish this feat since Camryn Brown dealt out 10 helpers against North Carolina Central last season and enters the tournament in the top-15 in total assists in all of Division I with 125.
 

10-1 with Four in Double Digits

The loss to Longwood was the first time this season that the Panthers have dropped a game when four or more players score in double digits. Curran led the way with 20 points, followed by both Edwards with 15 each, and Callie Scheier with 12 on four triples.
 

Double-Digit Delight

HPU's win against Charleston Southern (Feb. 5) marked the 50th time Curran has scored in double digits in her career. She enters the tournament with 56 after scoring in double digits in both games against Longwood.
 

Conquering the Commonwealth

Coach Banbury holds a 5-1 record in the state of Virginia after picking up a sweep over Radford this year and wins at Longwood, Hampton, and Radford a season ago. Her lone loss came early in her first season at the helm in a non-conference matchup at Norfolk State.
 

The 1K Club

Curran became just the 14th player in HPU's Division I history of women's basketball to join the 1,000-point club and the second in as many years after crossing the milestone earlier this season at Presbyterian (Jan. 23). She enters the tournament with 1,159 points to her name to sit in ninth place on High Point's D1 scoring list. Curran also entered the season in eighth place on HPU's career three-point list and is now in fourth place with 217 to her name, 13 away from third place.
 

A Better EDucation 

Jordan and Jenson Edwards are both in the top-five in the Big South in three different assist categories. Jordan leads the conference in assist to turnover ratio (2.3) and is second in total assists (125) and assists per game (5.2). Jenson is third in the conference in total assists (98) and assist to turnover ratio (1.9), and is fourth in assists per game (3.9). Nationally Jordan is 28th in assists per game and 13th in total assists.
 

Raining Buckets

High Point's 19 makes on 47 attempts from beyond the arc against Presbyterian (Jan. 22) were the most makes and attempts from three this season for the Panthers and were the second-most makes and most three-point attempts in HPU's Division I history. Nationally, the 19 makes are tied for the third-most in a single game across all of Division I this season while the 47 attempts are tied for the fifth-most.
 

Went Streaking

High Point made history on Jan. 22 by winning its 10th game in a row, the longest winning streak since the program made the jump to Division I in 1999. At the time of losing it the following day, the streak was tied for the 11th-longest active winning streak in all of Division I women's basketball. The win on the 22nd also marked the fifth consecutive win on the road and the eighth straight conference win away from home - both tying Division I program records.
 

They're Free for a Reason

HPU connects from the free-throw line at a great rate, hitting 76.1% of its free throws, second in the conference and 28th in the country. The Panthers have made a total of 335 shots from the line this season, the most in the Big South and 22nd-most in the nation.
 

SHOOTER!

Curran is the best in the conference and 27th in the country in three-point percentage, making 42.6% of her shots from behind the arc.
 

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 19-0 when outshooting their opponents and are 0-6 when the opponent fills it up better than HPU.
 

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 the tournament second in the country for three-pointers attempted and three-pointers made, and third in three-pointers per game. HPU has made a total of 262 long balls on the year in 725 attempts for an average of 10.5 per game. The Purple and White sit atop the conference and 34th in the country in three-point percentage, making 36.1% of their shots from behind the arc.
 

...In a No-Fly Zone

High Point is one of the best teams in the country in defending the three-pointer, entering the tournament leading the conference and in third place in all of Division I by allowing just 23.8% of opponent three-pointers to fall.
 
Three-Point Club Make Total: 262
 
 
Up Next: The winner of Monday's game will play the winner of the UNC Asheville vs. Gardner-Webb matchup on Thursday (March 11) at the home of the higher seed of the two.
 
This women's basketball preview is presented by Beamer Tire and Auto.