PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — With Hurricane Melissa approaching the Caribbean, the winds were gusting at the White Sands Bahamas NCAA Women's Golf Invitational where the High Point University women's golf team finished third on Sunday afternoon at The Ocean Golf Club.

The Panthers (+50) placed third for the second time this fall, trailing Miami (+35) and South Florida (+40) as all seven teams battled through harsh wind conditions over the three-day tournament. Of five fall tournaments, High Point finished third or higher in each one with the trip to the Bahamas being the final to cap the first half of the season.

Head Coach Lyndsey Hunnell: "It wasn't the ending we were hoping for, but I think this will help us walk into the off season with a lot of motivation. Windy conditions seem to be our team's biggest struggle, so I think they were able to gain a lot of experience at this event with the consistent 20+ mph winds every day. We worked on a lot of knockdown shots before we came down here, but it is a whole different experience playing in the wind vs  practicing. We don't really get to experience it a lot at home, so I'm glad we had this opportunity."
 
Site: Bahamas, Paradise Island
Course: The Ocean Golf Club  
Par/Yardage: 72/6316
 
HPU Top Finishers: Ella Perna (T9)  —  75, 78, 75 (228) +12
                                Makayla Grubb (T9) — 77, 74, 77 (228) +12
HPU Team Finish: 3 of 7 teams — 300, 309, 305 (914) +50
 
Panther Placement:
T9 Ella Perna  +12 (75, 78, 75) 228
T9 Makayla Grubb +12 (77, 74, 77) 228
T11 Anna Howerton +13 (73, 80, 76) 229
T11 Eva Lye +13 (75, 77, 77) 229
T28 Savannah Cherry +25 (79, 81, 81) 241
 
Ella Perna and Makayla Grubb tied for ninth to pace four Panthers in the top 11 as Anna Howerton and Eva Lye finished locked in 11th place. Savannah Cherry rounded out the High Point lineup in 28th.

Howerton had the best round of the team, shooting 1-over-par 73 in round one as Lye sunk her first collegiate eagle in round two on hole 13.

The Panthers now look ahead to the spring schedule with the first one at the Oyster Shuck Match Play on February 9 in Charleston, S.C.