The High Point University women's basketball team travels to USC Upstate on Saturday in the final stretch of Big South play. With a win on Wednesday night against Presbyterian, as well as other contributing results around the league, HPU earned a first-round bye into the quarterfinal round of the 2022-23 Big South Conference Tournament.
 

Got the W ?
Earned a first-round bye into the @BigSouthSports Tournament Quarterfinals ?#H3U x #GoHPU pic.twitter.com/oI2wcYRn8j

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) February 16, 2023

 
GAME INFORMATION
High Point at USC Upstate | Saturday, February 18^th | 3:00 PM
G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
Last Time Out
Three Panthers scored in double figures and Skyler Curran tallied her second double-double of the season as High Point stifled Presbyterian, 63-47, in Qubein Arena. Curran led HPU with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Jenson Edwards added 15 points. Nakyah Terrell nearly posted a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. Shakira Baskerville came of the bench to contribute eight points.
 

Make that ????????-???????????????? for the Panthers! ??

Skyler Curran registers a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead @HPUWBB past PC in commanding fashion, 63-47! #BigSouthWBB?? pic.twitter.com/0Cn0g5pKD9

— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) February 16, 2023

 
ACROSS THE BENCH
High Point vs. USC Upstate

• The Panthers are 10-1 all-time against Upstate but fell for the first time to the Spartans this season, 62-60.
• HPU has been perfect in games played in the Hodge Center, accumulating a 6-0 record.
• Last season, High Point picked up two wins over the Spartans, notching an 83-73 win at Upstate before posting a 75-59 victory in the Qubein Center.
• When the two teams played earlier this season, Jenson Edwards led HPU with 17 points while Nakyah Terrell chipped in 13 points. Skyler Curran posted nine points and eight rebounds.
• Head coach Chelsea Banbury is 7-1 against Upstate in her career dating back to the 2019-20 season.

 
About the Spartans

• USC Upstate is 9-17 on the season and 6-9 in Big South contests entering Saturday's game.
• The Spartans have posted a 7-6 record in the Hodge Center this season.
• In its last five games, Upstate is 1-4 with a win over Charleston Southern.
• Last Five Games for USC Upstate:
  • L, 65-68 at UNC Asheville – February 4
  • W, 71-67 at Charleston Southern – February 8
  • L, 48-53 vs. Winthrop – February 11
  • L, 52-56 at Winthrop – February 12
  • L, 64-97 at Longwood – February 15
• Rebekah Gordon leads Upstate with 10.4 points per game and averages 5.3 rebounds per game while Isabella Geraci adds 10.0 points per game and 7.0 boards per game.
• Head coach Jason Williams is in his first season with the Spartans.

 
Curran Earns Player of the Week Nod
After a steady week of averaging double-figure scoring, High Point University women's basketball's Skyler Curran has been named the Big South Player of the Week. It marks the first time an HPU women's basketball player has earned the award this season and the seventh time in Curran's career that she's been named the Player of the Week. Curran helped HPU to a 2-0 week with double-digit wins over Campbell and Longwood. She finished the week with 31 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 13-for-21 (.691) from the floor. Against Campbell, Curran poured in a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. At Longwood, she tallied 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep and pulled down six rebounds.
 

?????? ?????????? ???????????? ???? ?????? ????????@SkylerCurran_21 | #GoHPU pic.twitter.com/fU4Ad7tXmc

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) February 13, 2023

 
Edwards Posts Eleventh Career Double-Double
Jenson Edwards posted 15 points and 12 rebounds in the Panthers win against Longwood this past Saturday. Edwards scored nine points in a 15-0 run over the Lancers in the third quarter. This is her eleventh double-double of her career and second on the season. She is now third on the team in total points with 229.
 

Jenson ?? to get the offense rolling! @jenson_edwards and @SkylerCurran_21 both have 3-pointers in the first 4 minutes ??#H3U x #GoHPU pic.twitter.com/BGfP8Iughr

— HPU Women's Basketball (@HPUWBB) February 16, 2023

 
Terrell Adds Season-High 17 Points
Nakyah Terrell added a season-high 17 points for the Panthers on Saturday, shooting 55% from the field. Terrell tallied three, three-point field goals, also going three for five from beyond the arc. This is the 13th double-figure game for the sophomore guard. Terrell is now second in points with 244 on the season.
 
Curran Tallies 18th Double-Figure Game & Now Third in HPU's All-Time Scoring List
With 15 points on Saturday, Skyler Curran has now ended in double-figures in 18 out of the Panther's 24 games. Curran posted a season-high 29 points against Stony Brook earlier in the season and has tallied points in every single game so far. She ranks third overall in points per game in the Big South Conference and third overall in made three-pointers, averaging 2.4 per game. With a new career-total of 1,596 points, Curran now sits third overall in HPU's all-time scoring list, breaking Shamia Brown's 1,590 point-total.
 
Panther Offense Too Much for Nationally Ranked Defense
While Campbell entered Wednesday's (January 25) contest with the third-ranked NCAA Division I defense allowing 50.6 points per game, High Point used a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter to take down the Camels, 57-49. Campbell also boasted 41.8 rebounds per game entering the contest, 29^th in NCAA DI, but HPU out-rebounded the hosts 32-30 on the night.
 
Hot Shooting from Deep Edges Conference Record
The Panthers' 19 made three-pointers at Presbyterian on January 14^th nearly tied HPU's own Big South record for triples made in a game (20 vs. Winthrop). The performance also tied the third-most threes made in a single game this season by an NCAA DI member (Michigan State (19) at Maryland; South Dakota (19) vs. Midland).
 
Curran Reaches 1,500-Point Milestone
With a game-high 21 points at Winthrop on Wednesday, January 18^th, graduate senior Skyler Curran tallied her 1,500^th career point. Curran finished the night on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range. Her 1,613 career points are currently third and climbing in HPU's program history.
 
Curran Cracks Top-100 in Active Career Leaders
Grad senior Skyler Curran has totaled 1,613 career points and 369 points this season (14.8 ppg). She is up to No. 3 on HPU's all-time scoring list, trailing only Kaylah Keys (1,869) and Emma Bockrath (1,616). Curran is also climbing the ladder on the NCAA Division I active career leaders list in points. She currently sits at No. 64 in 115 career games played, tied for the 16^th-fewest games played among those in the top-75. Due to an injury last season, Curran missed all but one game on the 2021-22 schedule. In 2020-21, she averaged 17.2 points per game against Big South opponents and 17.7 points per game overall, finishing the season with 514 total points. This season, Curran is second in the Big South for scoring with 14.8 points per game and 369 total points.
 
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.) - 1,202 points, 624 rebounds
Skyler Curran (2018-pres.) - 1,613 points, 618 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 program-best mark of 257 makes in 97 career games played. Curran is 293-of-822 from beyond the arc, a career .356 from deep.
 
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 both milestones.
 
Edwards Second in Assists in Big South
Jordan Edwards has tallied 81 assists on the season and is second in the conference in assists per game with 3.9. In the Panther's win against Longwood Saturday, February 11^th, Edwards added five assists and posted a season-high eight assists against Campbell earlier in the season. The graduate guard has posted at minimum one assist in every game she has played this season.
 
Every Panther Scores as Meadows, McNear Return
All active roster players got the chance to see the floor on Wednesday night (January 18) in Rock Hill as High Point took down Winthrop, 79-42. The contest also marked the first game back for graduate senior Courtney Meadows and redshirt junior Amaria McNear. In eight minutes of action, Meadows scored a layup and tallied an assist while McNear made a free throw to mark that every Panther had scored in the contest.
 
Baskerville Builds to Career-High at Winthrop
Sophomore forward Shakira Baskerville has already doubled her scoring production as a role player from her freshman year as a Panther. In 2021-22, Baskerville tallied 32 total points through 13 games played (2.5 ppg). In 2022-23, she is averaging 4.3 points per game with 69 total points. She's posted five or more points in four of her last six games played and posted a new career-high 15 points at Winthrop on Wednesday, January 18^th.
 
Second Half Rally Marks Historic Comeback Win
High Point rallied from as much as 19-down to take a 60-57 win from Charleston Southern. The Panthers went 12-of-14 from the free throw line in fourth quarter, highlighted by Skyler Curran going 9-for-9 from the charity stripe as she finished with a game-high 24 points. The resurgence is tied for the fourth-largest comeback in a conference game in program history (vs. Liberty; January 30, 2018). Jenson Edwards led HPU with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block in 38 minutes played. Nakyah Terrell joined Curran scoring in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor with four rebounds.
 
Four-Straight Matchups with Three Double-Figure Scorers Supplement HPU Team Play
In the four-game stretch from a matchup with No. 8 Virginia Tech to a win at UNC Asheville, High Point has had three scorers finish in double digits each night. In the stretch, Claire Wyatt and Callie Scheier have finished three games in double figures, finishing the stretch with 47 and 33 points, respectively. Skyler Curran (31) and Nakyah Terrell (21) have posted double-digit scoring efforts twice, and Jordan Edwards (15) and Jenson Edwards (12) each finished in double figures at Asheville.
 
Edwards' Hot Hand in First Quarter Propels Panthers to Second Big South Win
During Wednesday night's game at UNC Asheville, grad senior Jordan Edwards blew open the first quarter scoring for HPU, notching 13 of her season-high 15 points in the opening period on 3-of-4 shooting from deep. In the last two minutes of the quarter, Edwards knocked down triples on consecutive possessions before Nakyah Terrell hit a jumper on HPU's final possession to take a commanding 27-12 lead into the second period. The Panthers shot over 66 percent from the floor (10-of-15) and over 55 percent from three-point range (5-of-9) in the opening 10 minutes.
 
Ball Sharing, Defense Powers Panthers to Big South Opener Win
High Point opened the Big South schedule with a win against 2022 tournament champion Longwood on Thursday night in Qubein Arena. Three Panthers scored in double figures while HPU posted 25 assists on 31 made baskets. It is the most assists tallied in a single-game this season for High Point and ties the ninth-most assists recorded in a single-game in program history.
 
Wyatt Finding Rhythm Entering New Year
Rounding out the 2022 portion of the schedule, Claire Wyatt averaged 15.0 points per game over three games for HPU, leading the Panthers in scoring in each of the contests. In the December 29^th win over Longwood, she also added a team-high two blocks to go along with four rebounds and two assists. In those three games, she shot 62 percent (18-of-29) from the floor, 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range and tallied six of her eight total blocks on the year.
 
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.
 
Scheier Leads Defensive Effort
Junior Callie Scheier has recorded a team-high 38 steals through 15 games so far this season, good for second in the Big South. She has recorded three or more steals in seven games this season, including games against Davidson, Elon, Georgetown, and Wake Forest. The program record for steals in a season by an individual sits at 88, set by Emma Bockrath (2018-19), Narelle Henry (2002-03), and Erin Reynolds (2011-12). Lindsey Edwards was the most recent Panther to crack the program top-15 with 67 steals in the 2018-19 season.
 
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.