HIGH POINT, N.C.- High Point University women's basketball was back at home Saturday afternoon in an 86-68 contest against the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb. Gardner-Webb's conference-leading offense gave them the edge over the Panthers after the two teams battled in a single-digit game for three quarters.
 
Head coach Chelsea Banbury: "Definitely not happy with how this one turned out. I give Gardner-Webb a lot of credit, they played really well, especially Lauren Bevis. She shot the ball unbelievable, she had 35 points. We let her get going early and then she made some tough shots down the stretch. We still have some work to do, we had too many game plan break downs."
 
Jenson Edwards opened up the scoring for the Panthers within the first minute on a hard drive to the basket. Skylar Curran followed up Edwards' effort with the first three-ball of the game on the Panther's next possession.
 
After two GWU made jumpers, the Panthers countered with a Claire Wyatt layup before Curran another Curran layup gave HPU the 10-9 lead with 4:16 remaining in the period.
 
Both teams came out strong with the Runnin' Bulldogs having a 17-14 edge over the Panthers after the first quarter. Curran led with six points while Wyatt chipped in four at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, it was Curran and Edwards again as Curran threaded the needle on a pass to Edwards for another Panther score.
 
Anna Häger tallied two points of her own on a layup to cut Gardner-Webb's lead to just five.
 
Gardner-Webb maintained a single-digit lead for most of the first half of play, but a late 7-0 push by the Panthers dwindled the lead down to one going into the half.
 
The third quarter began with a Jordan Edwards layup followed by a few minutes of Gardner-Webb pressure and a hiatus of scoring for the Panthers.
 
Nakyah Terrell added two of her nine total points of the night off a layup to cut the scoring break.
 
At the end of the third, Gardner-Webb maintained an eight-point lead.
 
Jordan Edwards put in another layup and Curran netted another three to keep the pressure on the Runnin' Bulldogs mid-way through the fourth.
 
Nakyah Terrell, Jenson Edwards, and Claire Wyatt all tallied points in the fourth to respond to an aggressive Gardner-Webb offense.
 
The late push by the Panthers would not be enough.
 
Three Panther players ended the night in double-figures. Curran ended the night on top with 17 points, five assists, and six rebounds. Jordan Edwards added 14 points, three assists, and four rebounds, and Wyatt tallied 13 points, four assists, and two rebounds.
 
UP NEXT: The Panthers are back in the Qubein Center this Wednesday, February 1^st, to take on UNC-Asheville. Tip-off is set for 7:00 P.M.