CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 2 seed High Point University women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2023 Hercules Tires Big South Championship game with a 69-50 win over No. 3 Campbell. The Panthers were led by
Skyler Curran's 29 points and seven rebounds.
Shakira Baskerville chipped in 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor in 19 minutes played.
Site: Bojangles Coliseum
Score: No. 2 High Point 69, No. 3 Campbell 50
Records: No. 2 High Point (17-13, 13-5), No. 3 Campbell (16-15, 10-8)
"I'm definitely happy with the outcome of this one," said head coach
Chelsea Banbury. "I think our girls were ready to play; after a bit of a slow start, we got we got going. Skyler (Curran) was excellent tonight; I think she kind of fueled that drive, and she was able to get some easy baskets early on. We really came out in the second half, and I think we did a much better job defending. Unfortunately, we put them on the free throw line a little much in the third quarter. But they had a hard time scoring against our game plan, so that's our girls taking the scout seriously. They came in, they were ready, and they were ready to execute. So I'm happy to be moving on and playing in the championship tomorrow."
While the Camels opened the game with a 9-3 run, HPU closed out the first quarter trailing 11-10 and on a 5-0 run after consecutive buckets from Curran.
Jenson Edwards put High Point on the board with a three-pointer nearly three minutes into the contest while Curran added all seven of HPU's remaining first quarter points.
Jordan Edwards made four free throws from charity stripe to open the second period before
Jenson Edwards knocked down another jumper to give HPU the 16-14 lead with 6:33 left in the half. Campbell added a layup to its cause, but five more points from Curran, two free throws and another triple, gave the Panthers a five-point lead halfway through the quarter.
A Camel three-pointer broke up the HPU run, but the Panthers closed the half on an 11-7 run. In the stretch, Baskerville added her first points of the night with three free throws and a triple. Curran also knocked down three free throws and a jumper to give HPU the 32-26 lead at the halftime break.
"H3U" got on a roll early in the second half as
Nakyah Terrell hit back-to-back triples in just over a minute before Curran knocked down her third of the night to give HPU the 43-30 lead. Campbell hit seven free throws to cut the deficit back down to 10 points, but layups from Jenson and Jordan pushed the Panthers back up by 12 points. The Camels hit three more free throws, knocking down just one field goal in the third quarter on their first possession, but Baskerville made another layup with less than two seconds remaining in the period.
Holding a double-digit lead entering the fourth, the Panthers kept at it as Curran knocked down a triple to open the half and Terrell made a layup to help the cause. HPU used a 17-4 run through most of the fourth period to take a commanding lead over Campbell. Baskerville had six points in the run while Curran chipped in seven.
Up Next: No. 2 High Point University will duel with No. 1 Gardner-Webb in the 2023 Hercules Tires Big South Championship game tomorrow night (March 5). Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. with an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.
#H3U x #GoHPU
