Box Score

HIGH POINT, NC--A shooting performance that was colder than this week's arctic blast was a major factor in Winthrop's 81-55 Big South Conference loss to High Point on Saturday afternoon at the Millis Center.
 
The Eagles shot just 26 percent in the first half and finished the game at 33 percent on 24 of 71 shooting as they dropped to 4-2 in the conference and 8-7 overall.  Foul trouble also played a big part in the rematch of last year's Big South tournament championship game.  High Point, which improved to 6-1 in the league and 10-6 overall, now leads the series 23-19.
 
HPU converted 16 of 21 free throws compared to just 4 of 9 for Winthrop, which did not go to the line in the first half.  The Eagles, who entered the game as the least fouling team in the country, was whistled for 20 fouls in the game.
 
"We came out ready to play.  Our energy and our effort to begin the game were tremendous," said Winthrop coach Kevin Cook.  "Shots that usually fall for us didn't fall today.  I am not at all displeased with our effort, but we let them shoot too many free throws and we only got to the line nine times.  Robertson is a very good player and when we got into foul trouble she began to wheel and deal. Round one goes to High Point, but we will play them again and possibly two more times."
 
Erica Williams, the conference's leading scorer entering the game, led Winthrop with 18 points, but she connected on just 8 of 27 field goals after missing 13 of her first 15 attempts.  The sophomore did record her sixth double-double of the season as she led all rebounders with 11.  Samiya Wright was the only other Eagle in double figures as she finished with 11 points.
 
Winthrop scored the first six points of the game as High Point missed its first nine shots in the opening four minutes.  But Stacia Robertson, who led all scorers with 22 points on a 10 for 13 shooting performance, began a 10-2 Panther scoring run to tie the game with 10:45 left in the first half.  At that point in the game Nunn was whistled for her second foul and went to the bench, changing the complexion of the game. Williams reclaimed the lead briefly for the Eagles at 12-10 with 8:40 on the clock with a 10 footer, but High Point responded with a 15-3 run to take a 10-point lead at 25-15 and the Panthers were never threatened thereafter.
 
The HPU run began with a 15 foot jumper by Maja Michalska that tied the game.  Kayla Keys, who missed her first eight shots, then scored on back-to-back shots in the lane before Robertson scored nine straight points without Nunn in the game.  The Eagles trailed 27-19 at halftime as they got closing baskets from Samiya Wright and Pamela Decheva.
 
Michalska open the second half with a quick 3-pointer to up High Point's lead to 11 at 30-29.  Nunn answered with a 15 footer and a short left handed shot in the lane to pull Winthrop to within seven points.
Winthrop trailed by eight points with 16:07 left to play after Wright scored to make it 38-30, but High Point went on a 11-3 run over the next 3 minutes and 14 seconds to take a 49-33 lead. 
 
Aliyah Kilpatrick pulled the Eagles to within single digits for the last time at 49-40 when she scored seven straight points, including back-to-back layups in a 10-second span after making steals.
 
High Point responded with 28-6 run to expand the margin to 31 points at 77-46 with 3:29 left.
 
Winthrop will continue its road swing on Tuesday when the Eagles travel to Radford for a 7 p.m. game.