HIGH POINT, N.C. - The High Point University women's basketball team closed out the 2025-26 season in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Vanderbilt University 102-61 in the first round on Saturday night.
Site: Memorial Gym
Score: High Point 61, Vanderbilt 102
Records: High Point (27-6, 13-3), Vanderbilt (28-4, 13-3)
Head Coach Chelsea Banbury: We definitely played a really good team tonight. Vanderbilt is a tough group to defend and we had a pretty good game plan coming into it. But they knocked down a lot of tough shots. They're able to separate early, but I'm really proud of our girls. I think we competed for 40 minutes. We talked about it in the locker room that don't let this overshadow what we're able to accomplish this season. We still had a really good year, and they're a fun group to coach. It's definitely not the result we wanted, nor the margin, but I'm still very proud of this group and what we were able to do this year."
The Panthers were led by Macy Spencer, who scored a team-high 27 points behind seven made three-pointers. Spencer provided an early spark, knocking down three first-quarter threes, including back-to-back makes midway through the quarter to cut into an early deficit.
Vanderbilt, however, used a fast start to take control, opening the game on a 14-2 run and building a 30-13 lead after the first quarter. High Point responded in the second behind Spencer's shooting, as she continued to find rhythm from deep. A fastbreak three from Spencer off a steal by Chana Paxixe, along with a three-pointer from Nevaeh Zavala, highlighted a strong stretch for the Panthers as they posted a 19-point second quarter to head into halftime trailing 54-32.
High Point continued to compete in the second half, with Zavala converting inside early in the third quarter and Peyton Gerdes adding multiple buckets as the Panthers looked to build momentum. Despite the effort, Vanderbilt capitalized on second-chance opportunities and extended its lead through the third quarter.
The Panthers remained active in the fourth quarter, generating points in transition and in the paint, but Vanderbilt maintained control to secure the 102-61 result.
High Point capped its historic season as back-to-back-to-back Big South Regular Season Champions and captured its third Big South Tournament Championship in program history, all while reaching as high as No. 7 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25 ranking.
#H3U x #GoHPU
