Box Score Box Score

ROCK HILL, SC— Shamia Brown's three-point play with 26 seconds left in the game handed Winthrop its second straight setback in a 58-53 loss to league-leading High Point, Saturday afternoon in Big South Conference women's basketball action.

Brown got the ball inside and slipped toward the basket and made the lay-up and a foul on Kaitlyn Rubino was whistled as she slid over to defend the shot. Brown, who had missed the free throw on her previous two opportunities for a three-point play, knocked down the free throw for a four-point advantage.

The victory drops the Lady Eagles to 10-10 overall on the year and 4-4 in the league while High Point remained perfect in conference play at 8-0 and improved to 12-7 on the year. The Panthers have won eight straight games.

Dequesha McClanahan tied Brown for top scorer in the game with 24 points as she also dished out six assists and had six rebounds and was the only Winthrop player in double-figures.

The opening four minutes and 20 seconds of the second half saw eight lead changes as the teams came out battling back-and-forth. McClanahan scored the first eight points of the second half for Winthrop.

Samiya Wright converted two free throws for a 41-38 lead with 12:47 left in the game, but High Point continued to push hard on both ends of the court for a comeback. The Panthers' Cheyenne Parker scored on a jumper in the lane at the 12:29 mark that sparked an 11-0 run and with 7:11 to play they led 49-41. The run started with a Brown jumper in the lane followed by an Erin Reynolds triple and another Brown jumper in the paint. Brown scored on a lay-up to push the lead to eight points, having scored six of the 11 points in the run.

Winthrop had an answer as Wright scored off a backdoor cut and Diana Choibekova drained threes on back-to-back possessions to tie the game with six minutes left. McClanahan capped a 10-0 run as she scored on a baseline jumper for the 10^th lead chance of the second half, putting Winthrop in front 51-49.

The 11^th lead chance of the game came on an inbounds play in front of the Lady Eagles bench as the defense overplayed the pass to the top of the key and Katie Fitzgerald slid toward the basket, receiving the pass and making the lay-up for a 53-52 lead with 2:09 left. High Point came right back for the 12^th different lead of the second half alone, as Lindsay Puckett hit a midrange jumper from the baseline.

Winthrop raced out to an early 8-1 lead as Choibekova started things off with a reverse lay-up followed by a Taylor Calvert lay-up off a nice feed inside by McClanahan for a 4-0 lead. After a free throw from Brown, Winthrop scored four straight points off a basket from McClanahan on a drive and Calvert again inside.

Back-to-back buckets from High Point cut the lead to 8-5 before the Lady Eagles reeled off five straight points behind two McClanahan lay-ups for a 12-5 advantage with 14:04 left in the first half.

Winthrop pushed the lead to 10 points at the 9:26 mark after a couple of free throws from TaQuoia Hammick and a McClanahan basket on a drive after the Lady Eagles gathered an offensive rebound.

High Point worked its way back from the 10-point deficit to pull within three points at 24-21 after Brown got ahead of the pack and finished off a short jumper with 3:25 remaining. Winthrop answered right back as another second chance opportunity for Winthrop turned into a three-pointer from McClanahan. Each team followed with turnovers on their next possessions and Erin Reynolds knocked down a three-pointer to bring the deficit back to just three points with 2:01 to go. An inside basket by Cheyenne Parker off a missed jumper cut the lead down to  just 27-26 with just over a minute to play and that's where the scored remained into halftime.

With turnovers on two of its final three possessions, the Lady Eagles nearly allowed the Panthers to take the lead before halftime. High Point finished the first half outscoring the Lady Eagles 13-6 in the final six and a half minutes.

Both teams got after it defensively over the first 20 minutes as each team, not known for turning the ball over a lot, combined for 24 turnovers. Winthrop committed 13 turnovers while forcing High Point into 11. Winthrop shot 36 percent from the field in the first half and High Point finished at 38 percent.

Winthrop shot just 31 percent for the game while High Point was a little bit higher at 36 percent. After 11 turnovers in the first half, High Point committed just three in the second half.

Parker finished the game with 13 points, 22 rebounds and nine blocks while Reynolds also added 13 points.

McClanahan was the only Lady Eagle in double-figures, but Choibekova finished with eight points and seven rebounds while Wright added seven points.

Winthrop looks to rebound Monday evening when it hosts Campbell University at 7 p.m. in a battle for third place in the conference. High Point will put its perfect record in conference play on the line at Presbyterian College Monday evening at 7 p.m.