The Panther women's basketball squad is back in action on Thursday evening in High Point to open conference play. HPU hosts defending Big South Champion Longwood for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off.
 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ??????#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/8HkjopDGud

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) December 25, 2022

 
GAME INFORMATION
High Point vs. Longwood | Thursday, December 29^th | 5:00 PM
Qubein Arena | High Point, N.C.
Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
Last Time Out
The High Point women's basketball team rounded out non-conference play prior to the Christmas break with a matchup with No. 8 Virginia Tech. It was the first ranked opponent the Panthers had faced this season. HPU posted 66 points on the NCAA DI third-ranked scoring defense, which allows just 49.8 points per game. The most points the Hokies have allowed this season was 74 in a win over Kentucky, with the Panthers 66 the second-most points allowed this season. Junior Claire Wyatt posted a season-high 17 points against Tech, finishing 5-of-7 from three-point range, a career-high for triples made in a game.
 

And-1!!!#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/YyCdmHRJck

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) December 22, 2022

 
ACROSS THE BENCH
High Point vs. Longwood
The Panthers are 28-12 in their all-time series with the Lancers, dating back to the 1993-94 season. HPU has been victorious in 19 of the last 21 matchups with Longwood. Each of the last four games have been played in High Point with Longwood claiming the last two wins in 2021 and 2022. Last season, Claire Wyatt and Cydney Johnson each posted 15 points against Lancers while Jordan Edwards joined in double digits with 10 points. Jenson Edwards had a team-high 11 rebounds and just missed out on the double-double with nine points.
 
About the Lancers
Longwood is 1-10 on the season, its lone win a 66-65 thriller over Ohio. The Lancers have also faced Virginia Tech (November 27) and Wake Forest (December 15), falling to the Hokies, 89-28, and to the Demon Deacons, 83-43. Adriana Shipp-Davis and Anne-Hamilton LeRoy lead the Lancers with just over 10 points per game apiece. Shipp-Davis also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 4.9 boards per game.
 

To the hoop ??@CallieScheier x #GoHPU pic.twitter.com/P3blyCOfQw

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) December 22, 2022

 
Wyatt Posts Back-To-Back Game Highs
Junior guard Claire Wyatt posted back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts in HPU's win over North Carolina Wesleyan and the Panthers' 86-66 loss to No. 8 Virginia Tech. Wyatt led HPU with 12 points and four blocks against Wesleyan, going 5-of-10 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Against Tech, Wyatt posted a season-high 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep in 25 minutes of action.
 

YOU CAN'T STOP HER!!!@claire_wyatt10 5-for-6 from deep ????#H3U x #GoHPU pic.twitter.com/fbY8112njV

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) December 22, 2022

 
Curran Conjures First Double-Double
Graduate student Skyler Curran recorded the Panthers' first double-double of the season as she dropped team highs with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Curran leads HPU with 15.7 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game through the first three contests.
 
Dynamic Duo Climbing the Ladder
Jenson Edwards and Skyler Curran both joined the career 1,000 points & 500 rebounds club in HPU's contest against Wofford on November 19th. Edwards tallied 22 points with her first double-double of the season to eclipse 1,000 career points while Curran pulled down nine rebounds to reach 500 rebounds. Edwards notched the 500 rebounds milestone earlier in the season while Curran tallied her 1,000 career point in the 2020-21 season.
 
HPU Women's Basketball 1,000 Career Points & 500 Career Rebounds
Katie O'Dell (2002-06) – 1,307 points, 680 rebounds
Mackenzi Maier (2007-11) – 1,119 points, 595 rebounds
Shamia Brown (2008-12) – 1,590 points, 745 rebounds
Cheyenne Parker (2010-13) – 1,200 points, 1,039 rebounds
Stacia Robertson (2012-15) – 1,274 points, 801 rebounds
Emma Bockrath (2015-18) – 1,616 points, 747 rebounds
Jenson Edwards (2018-pres.) - 1,068 points, 544 rebounds
Skyler Curran (2018-pres.) - 1,404 points, 526 rebounds
 
Curran is also now in sole possession of the leader for three-pointers made in a career, passing Kalyah Keys' 255. She reached the now program-best 257 in 97 career games played. Curran is 260-of-728 from beyond the arc, a career percentage of .357 from deep.
 

Last game before a two-week break and picked up the W ??#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/eoQisBbcuQ

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) December 8, 2022

Edwards and Curran become the seventh and eighth members of the Panthers' NCAA Division I-era 1,000 point and 500 rebound club and are two of just three active women's basketball players in the Big South who have reached the milestone.
 
Terrell Leads HPU in Exhibition Win
Sophomore guard Nakyah Terrell picked up right where she left off in 2021-22 as High Point posted a 64-35 win over UNC Pembroke last Tuesday night in Qubein Arena. Terrell led the Panthers with 15 points and seven rebounds while shooting 6-of-9 from the floor.
 
New Faces Make Presence Known
Two freshmen joined the HPU roster this season, guard Anna Häger and forward Nevaeh Zavala. Häger posted 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting with five rebounds while going 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. Zavala chipped in a three-pointer and two rebounds in 15 minutes played in her Purple and White debut.
 
Back For More
High Point returns four of its five leading scorers from a season ago in Jenson Edwards, Nakyah Terrell, Callie Scheier, and Cydney Johnson. 2021-22 Big South Preseason Player of the Year Skyler Curran also returns in 22-23 after a season-ending injury sidelined her in the first regular season game. Besides Terrell, each player was on the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament team and played significant minutes against UConn.
 
Preseason Panthers
Three HPU players earned Big South Preseason honors and High Point was picked to win the conference for the second year in a row in preseason polls. Skyler Curran and Jenson Edwards were named to the Preseason All-Big South First Team while Jordan Edwards earned Second Team Big South preseason honors.
 
Terrell Looks to Capitalized After Breakout Season
Sophomore Nakyah Terrell had a breakout freshman season in 2021-22, emerging as the third-leading scorer for the Panthers. Named the Big South Player of the Week three times and featured on the All-Freshman team a season ago, Terrell averaged 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while passing out 54 assists and tallying 25 steals. She recorded 10 double-digit scoring games, one double-double (vs. Wake Forest, Nov. 24), and two 20-point scoring games.  
 
Year Two in the Qubein Center
After amassing a 9-5 record in its new home a season ago, HPU returns to the state-of-the-art Qubein Arena & Conference Center for its second season. In last season's exhibition contest against Mount Olive, the Panther women posted an 82-68 win in front of a crowd of 1,354 fans in Purple & White. Throughout 14 games in the regular season in the Qubein Center, HPU brought in over 11,600 spectators.