RADFORD, Va. – The High Point University women's basketball team opened conference play with a road win at Radford, 67-55, on Thursday night.
Site: Dedmon Center
Score: High Point 67, Radford 55
Records: High Point (6-8, 1-0), Radford (3-11, 0-1)
Head Coach Chelsea Banbury: "A good road win for our team. Anytime you can go on the road during conference play and get a win, you should be thankful. I thought some stretches we looked pretty good, and some stretches we started to take breaks as Radford was able to get their shot off and come back. Hats off to Radford, they played for 40 minutes and they're competing. They didn't give up, so they made it a game. Now we have a quick turnaround for Asheville on Saturday to get refocused and ready to execute another game plan."
High Point wasted no timing winning the tip and scoring the first bucket.
Aaliyah Collins scored the Panthers first basket off a driving layup to get things going. The Highlanders weren't going away anytime soon as they were scoring right there with the Panthers. Radford tied it at 11 with 4:32 left before another driving layup from Collins regained the lead for HPU.
Lauren Scott would drain a three to take a five-point lead before
Nakyah Terrell extended the lead with a layup. High Point took a 20-15 lead to the second quarter.
The Panthers forced seven turnovers to hold the Highlanders to just six points in the second quarter. A slow start for Radford allowed the Panthers to extend the lead to 24-15 before Radford scored its first basket with 6:58 left.
Jaleesa Lawrence and Scott both scored off layups to put HPU up 11 with just under 2:30 to go in the half. With just under 30 seconds to play, Scott drained a three pointer from the corner before the Highlanders hit a layup before the buzzer sounded. HPU took a 34-21 lead to the locker room.
High Point was quick to attack to start the second half.
Chana Paxixe dropped down an early layup followed by another layup from Lawrence to take a 17-point lead over the Highlanders. Radford cut the lead to 11 before High Point answered with four points of its own. The Panthers controlled a double-digit lead all the way through the third quarter as they were up 15, 50-35, heading into the fourth quarter.
It took a few minutes to get points on the board for each squad in the final 10 minutes as Radford brought the lead down the 12 with 7:13 remaining. High Point took its biggest lead of the game after Scott dropped a jumper in the paint to take a 18-point lead with under six to play. Radford was quick to cut the lead after making a few threes and forcing turnovers. A good three from Joi Williams brought the Highlanders within six points with 47 seconds to go. Radford had no choice but to start fouling which brought Terrell to the line three times. Terrell went 6-for-6 from the line to give High Point a road conference win to open the near year slate.
Terrell led the team with 17 points, followed by a 15-point performance by Collins.
Up Next: High Point will have a quick turnaround as they welcome UNC Asheville to the Qubein Center on Saturday, January 4. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
#H3U x #GoHPU
