ROCK HILL SC—The High Point Panthers shot a blistering 71 percent in the third quarter and 53 percent for the game to extend Winthrop's losing streak to nine with a 74-67 Big South Conference victory on Tuesday night at the Winthrop Coliseum.
The loss drops Winthrop's record to 2-15 overall and 1-7 in the Big South Conference while High Point improves to 6-11 and 4-4.
Winthrop, which dressed only six scholarship players, played one of its best first halves of the season and led 35-31 at intermission, but fell victim to the Panthers' second half shooting performance that included three straight 3-pointers and two free throws by Haleigh Hatfield in the fourth quarter that gave them a 67-61 lead with just under four minutes left in the game.
Hatfield finished the night with a career-high 20 points to lead all scorers in the game. Winthrop placed four players in double figures, led by
Aliyah Kilpatrick's 16 points.
Erica Williams had 15 while
Naima Jackson had a career-best 12 and
Ronata Rogers added 10. High Point connected on 28 of 53 shots in the game, including 7 for 11 from behind the three-point arc while Winthrop was 27 for 70 (38.6 pct.).
Winthrop led 14-12 after one quarter as sisters Naima and
Nuba Jackson accounted for 10 of those points. The Eagles led by as many as five points twice in the second quarter and took its four-point halftime lead after
Erica Williams made three straight short jumpers to push the lead to 33-28 with 1:32 left in the second period.
The Eagles quickly extended the lead to six points to begin the third quarter when
Naima Jackson connected on a jumper just inside the arc to give Winthrop its largest lead of the game at 37-31, but High Point turned up its offense at that point with a 7-0 run fueled by preseason all-conference player Kayla Keys. Her 3-pointer and layup gave the Panthers a 38-37 lead with 7:11 left in the period. The Eagles responded with back-to-back 3-pointers by Kilpatrick and
CiiCii Buford to put Winthrop back up by five at 43-38.
High Point, which made 10 of 14 shots in the third quarter, went on a 16-8 run to close the quarter with a 54-51 advantage. Kilpatrick began the fourth period with a 3-pointer to knot the game at 54 and the Eagles took a brief 57-56 lead after a short jumper by Williams and a free throw with 6:41 left in the game.
It was at that point that Hatfield took over with 11 straight points, including her three triples to put High Point in control.
Winthrop returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Campbell at 1:00 p.m.
