HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University women's basketball seniors shined as the Panthers rolled past the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs, 71-63, in the home finale Saturday on Senior Day.
With the team's fifth straight victory, High Point secured at least a share of the Big South Conference regular-season title.
SITE: Qubein Center
SCORE: High Point 71, Gardner-Webb 63
RECORDS: High Point (17-11,12-3), Gardner-Webb (10-16, 7-7)
Head Coach Chelsea Banbury: "I give Gardner-Webb a lot of credit. They definitely didn't give up and played for 40 minutes. We had a pretty good lead on them, and they kept playing, knocked down some tough shots and definitely made it a close one at the end. I'm happy we got the win, but I don't think we executed all that well so there are some things we have to do better. Like I said in the locker room, 'I'm not good at sharing,' so we have one more that we have to go get next Wednesday so that is where our focus is."
Before tip-off, HPU honored its five seniors —
Nakyah Terrell,
Lauren Scott,
Shakira Baskerville,
Jaleesa Lawrence and
Aaliyah Collins — with a pre-game ceremony.
A trio of seniors — Terrell, Scott and Lawrence — registered double-digit performances as Terrell led the group with 17 points, six assists and two steals. Lawrence added 14 points and eight boards while Scott scored 13 points, snagged five rebounds and had two steals. Baskerville added three points and four rebounds while Collins had two points, four assists and a steal.
Leading 37-22 at half, High Point took control of the game quickly.
Nevaeh Zavala, who scored a team-high 19 points and had seven rebounds, contributed to a large chunk of HPU's 38 paint points. The largest Panther run came in the second quarter when Lawrence drove to the basket, forcing a Gardner-Webb timeout after HPU raced out to a 25-12 advantage with 7:16 to play in the second.
Terrell continued to play lock-down defense to help rattle the conference's leading scorer Ashley Hawkins. The team followed the senior as the Panthers forced 17 turnovers.
The Runnin' Bulldogs cut into the Panthers' fourth-quarter, 20-point lead as the they trimmed the deficit to six late with a less than a minute remaining. HPU was able to knock down free throws and secure the win.
Up Next: High Point closes the regular-season at USC Upstate on Wednesday, February 26 at 7 p.m.
#GoHPU x #H3U
