ESTERO, Fla. – The High Point University women's basketball team fell to the Illinois State Redbirds, 70-49, in its second game of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Saturday afternoon.
Site: Hertz Arena
Score: High Point 49, Illinois State 70
Records: High Point (3-5), Illinois State (3-3)
Head Coach Chelsea Banbury: "Illinois State came out ready to play and kind of punched us in the mouth to start the game. We weren't ready and we did not match the intensity. We got a lot to figure out and hopefully our girls come back with more intensity tomorrow. It doesn't matter who we play at this tournament, if we come out flat like that, it's going to be tough to win."
The Redbirds came out hot to start the game as they quickly went on an 11-0 run before
Nakyah Terrell landed a three pointer for HPU. High Point slowly worked it back to a six-point deficit to end the first quarter, 20-14.
Both teams were struggling to find the basket in the second quarter. HPU struggled a bit more than the Redbirds as the first points for HPU came just under the three-minute mark after
Peyton Gerdes knocked down a free throw. High Point headed to halftime down 13, 32-19.
The Redbirds extended their lead in the third as they shot 61% from the field compared to High Points 29%. Late in the third quarter, Anna Hager finally got one to fall beyond the arc as she was wide open in the corner.
The fourth quarter saw ISU jump to a 28-point lead to start the final 10 minutes. High Point was able chip away what they could at the Redbird lead after a few buckets by
Dom Nesland, and
Lauren Scott. Scott hit a jumper to cut the lead to 19 before Illinois State controlled the ball till the final whistle.
Terrell led HPU with 11 points as she went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Nevaeh Zavala and Nesland both has six rebounds in today's contest.
Up Next: High Point will play Santa Clara University at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 1 at the Hertz Arena to wrap up the tournament.
#H3U x #GoHPU
