• Sophomore Emma Bockrath posted her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
• Freshman Camryn Brown dished out eight assists on the night – the most by a Panther this season.
• High Point controlled the glass racking up 62 rebounds – the most ever by the program against a Division I foe – while limiting Winthrop to 32 boards.
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s basketball team jumped on Winthrop early and cruised to an 88-43 victory in the Millis Center on Tuesday night.
The Panthers (3-9, 1-0) opened league action in style as four players scored in double figures and the team earned a +30 (62-32) margin on the glass against the Eagles (2-10, 0-1). Sophomore Emma Bockrath led the charge for the Purple & White racking up 15 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
“Tonight was fun and our kids really took it to heart that conference play is a whole new season and came out with a different kind of intensity and fire,” head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “It was great to be able to get as many players involved as we did tonight. I think the UNCG game taught us a lot and helped build chemistry and allowed our team to continue to come together and it carried over into practice and into the game tonight.”
Joining Bockrath in double figures, sophomore Shea Morgan tallied a season-high 12 points to go with six rebounds. Meanwhile, sophomore Haleigh Hatfield registered 11 points on the strength of three 3-pointers and sophomore Lindsey Edwards added 10 points off the bench.
On the glass, freshman Carol-Anne Obusek posted a career-high 10 rebounds and added six reserve points. Similarly, redshirt-sophomore Kennedy Currie registered 10 rebounds – a career-best – to go with four points in her second game back from injury.
The 62 rebounds are the most in school history against a Division I opponent while the 22 assists and 88 points were the second most on the season for HPU.
The orchestrator of the offense, freshman Camryn Brown, came off the bench and dished out eight assists in just 22 minutes.
Defensively, the Purple & White collected 41 defensive rebounds on 48 missed shots by the Eagles in the contest. Likewise, HPU held Winthrop to a 25.8 percent shooting night (16-62) and just 17 points after halftime.
Thanks to the up-tempo pace of the contest, High Point attempted a season-high 75 shots while hitting 41 percent (31-75) and nine 3-pointers. As always, the Purple & White made the most of their free-throw attempts hitting 17-of-22 (77 percent) on the evening.
High Point flexed their depth on the night as the reserves combined for 40 points as the Eagles could only muster eight from their bench.
The Panthers established the tempo early firing 23 first-quarter shots en route to a 23-point period. The Eagles kept pace early trailing 11-9 at the first media timeout, but HPU closed the frame on a 12-4 run to lead 23-13 after the first.
In the second quarter, the Purple & White’s pace slowed, however they still managed to outscore Winthrop 22-13 to take a 45-26 edge into the break.
The offense slowed some after halftime, but the defense clamped down on the Eagles holding the visitors to eight points in the third quarter. On the other end, the Panthers tallied 17 points as the lead swelled to 62-34 entering the final period.
In the fourth quarter, High Point continued its dominating defense holding Winthrop to seven points while racking up 26 on offense as junior Hunter Fleming and sophomore Kyriè Chandler tallied their first points of the season.
The Panthers hit the road for their first Big South trip on Saturday when they play the Liberty Flames in Lynchburg, Va. at 7 p.m.