• Freshman Emma Bockrath tallied 20 points on 7-16 shooting on the night as she grabbed six rebounds.
• Sophomore Kat Harris added 19 points while knocking down all seven of her free-throw attempts.
• High Point concludes its regular season at UNC Asheville on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Justice Center.
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team built a 20-point lead, but couldn’t hold off Campbell in a 68-65 setback in the Millis Center on Tuesday night.
The Panthers (11-17, 10-9) built a 26-6 advantage early in the second quarter before the Camels (12-16, 7-12) fought within 14 points at halftime. Then, the visitors then outscored the Purple & White 23-11 in the fourth quarter – including ReaChaun Edwards’ game-winner – to come away with the victory.
“We just have to mature,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “We were able to grab the lead, but we just didn’t play with the maturity needed to keep it. Edwards is a big-time player for them and she hit the shot when they needed it.”
For the second straight game freshman Emma Bockrath tallied 20 points shooting 7-16 from the floor while grabbing six boards. Sophomore Kat Harris just missed a 20-point outing of her own with 19 points on 7-7 shooting from the charity stripe.
The Panthers built their first-half lead hitting 14-31 (45 percent), but only hit 9-30 (30 percent) after the break to finish the night shooting 23-61 (38 percent).
HPU’s aggressive defense tallied seven steals and converted those chances into nine points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes. But it was a different story in the second half as Campbell committed only five turnovers and shot 56 percent from the floor.
Junior Kaylah Keys marked the third Panther in double figures with 11 points to go along with six assists. Playing in her final game in the Millis Center, senior Aariel Allen grabbed six rebounds while tallying five points.
On the boards, the Purple & White recorded a +4 margin (39-35) and a 12-9 in second-chance points. After registering eight fast-break points in the first half, the Campbell defense held High Point to just four such points after halftime.
After Campbell took a 5-3 lead through the first 90 seconds, HPU mounted a 23-1 run over the next nine minutes to build a 26-6 advantage (8:57, 2nd). Six different Panthers scored during the run led by Bockrath’s nine while the squad hit 7-of-10 from the floor.
However, the Camels fought right back into the game with a 13-3 run over the next four minutes (29-19, 5:16). But the Purple & White wouldn’t let their lead go under 10 points as they went into the break with a 39-25 edge.
Despite seven points from Bockrath, Campbell outscored HPU 20-15 in the third quarter. The visitors hit 9-15 shots in the frame to cut the deficit to nine heading into the final period.
Campbell stormed out of the gate in the fourth quarter posting a 14-0 run to take its first lead since the opening minutes (59-54, 5:17). Harris led the charge with seven points over the next three minutes as HPU regained the lead at 65-63 (2:03).
But the Panthers couldn’t score again as the Camels hit a pair of free throws before RaeChaun Edwards hit a three-pointer with four seconds to play (68-65). HPU called a timeout, but Harris’ attempt to tie the game was blocked by MaKala Rouse to send Campbell home with the victory.
The Panthers wrap up the season at UNC Asheville on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will not be played in Kimmel Arena, but will be held in the neighboring Justice Center.