FARMVILLE, Va. – Lauren Scott scored a season-high 23 points as the High Point University women's basketball team defeated the Longwood Lancers, 70-61, to take sole possession of first place in the Big South on Wednesday night.
Site: Joan Perry Brock Center
Score: High Point 70, Longwood 61
Records: High Point (14-11, 9-3), Longwood (16-9, 7-4)
Head Coach Chelsea Banbury: "I'm proud of the girls. We came in and got a very important road win tonight. We were fortunate to execute enough plays. I think Longwood did a great job on the boards; we have to clean that up. We didn't let them turn too many points or too many turnovers into points from their press. We had too many turnovers, but fortunately it didn't turn into direct points. I'm proud of our girls for doing that and getting a big road win."
Right out of the gates, the Panthers were ready to score buckets and connect from beyond the arc.
Aaliyah Collins started things off with a scoop and score and then connected on a three pointer to hand HPU its first five points. Both the Panthers and the Lancers were scoring buckets, but it wasn't until later in the first quarter that Scott started to heat up. Longwood brought the game to one point as HPU led, 17-16 before Scott connected on a mid-range jumper to extend the lead right before the break.
Dom Nesland hit a foul shot right before the buzzer to give High Point the 20-19 lead after 10 minutes.
Scott continued to drop points as she started the quarter with a good jumper followed by a Lancer three to tie things at 22. Scott answered right away with another three pointer to grab the lead right back. About halfway through,
Jaleesa Lawrence found Anna Hager under the hoop to take a 32-26 lead. Longwood worked its way back to a two-point deficit with 3:30 left before HPU went on an 8-2 run to cap off the first half. The Panthers took a 40-31 lead to the locker room.
The Panther lead was cut to four to start the third quarter. The lead was brought right back to eight after a pair of layups from
Nakyah Terrell and Lawrence. HPU jumped to its biggest lead of the quarter with 3:00 remaining after Collins scored a layup to put HPU up 11. Longwood scored four unanswered points to take the Lancers down seven, 53-46, to the fourth quarter.
The three-ball kept falling for the Purple & White as
Nevaeh Zavala started it off with one to kick start the fourth quarter. Back-to-back three pointers from Scott put HPU out front 13 with a little over five minutes to play. High Point took its biggest lead of the game with 4:50 remaining as Lawrence scored in the paint to push HPU up 16, 65-49. A 7-0 run by the Lancers brought the HPU lead back to within single digits before Nesland converted on a foul shot to go back up 10. The Lancers were running out of time and options as they started to foul High Point, but that only added to the Panther lead. HPU held off the Lancers in the Joan Perry Brock Center, 70-61, to take sole possession of first place in the Big South Conference.
Scott led the floor with a season-high 23 points as she connected on 5-of-7 from three. Lawrence trailed with 17-points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Terrell also cracked into double-digits with 10 points, two rebounds, and three assists.
Up Next: High Point will return to the Qubein Center on Saturday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m. as they host Winthrop University for its Play4Kay game.
