CLINTON, S.C. - Dria
David scored her first career double-double for the Blue Hose but it wasn't
enough for Presbyterian College who fell, 69-64 to High Point on Saturday
afternoon. The freshman scored 14 points
and pulled 10 rebounds to match a career high scoring and set a new career mark
on the glass.
Mariah Pietrowski scored 19 points on the night for the Blue
Hose who fall to 2-15 on the year and 1-4 in the Big South. Mackenzie Maier scored 21 points for High
Point who improves to 12-7 and 5-1 in the league. Lea Smith also reached double-figures in scoring
for PC with 10 points. It was the first
time this year she went into double-digits.
In the first half, High Point ran out to a 23-9 lead just
before the 10-minute mark. But the Blue
Hose stormed back, cutting the deficit to 7 points at the 3:29 mark. At the break, the hosts trailed High Point by
8 points at 38-30.
PC was opportunistic in the first half, forcing 13 Panther
turnovers while shooting 46 percent from the field and conceding only 10
turnovers. David had eight points at the
break while Pietrowski had seven as the Blue Hose rattled off 22 of their 30
first half points in the paint.
Out of the break, PC conceded the first basket to High Point's
Jurica Hargraves who finished the game with 14 points. After the layup, PC sparked a 12-4 run that
cut the Panther lead to two points at 15:06 remaining.
High Point answered with a quick 6-0 run to take the lead
back to nine points just 68 seconds later.
The Panthers would run the margin out to ten points at the 12:16 point.
The Blue Hose played themselves back into the game by going
on a 7-0 run to cut the High Point lead to three points. However, High Point once again answered the
run with a 5-0 to push the margin back to eight points just inside five
minutes.
Down the stretch, PC was able to trade free-throws and get
the lead down to as few as four at two points in the final minute. In the end, High Point took the final
decision by five points, 69-64.
The Blue Hose narrowly missed matching their season high in
scoring, falling just one point shy of tying the mark from the UNC Asheville
and Winston-Salem St. games. However, a
notable streak did come to an end in the loss.
PC's streak of 83 consecutive game with a made three pointer came to an
end as the hosts went 0-7 from the bounssphere.
The last game without a basket from downtown was on January 17, 2007
when PC fell to Wingate, 82-57.
Amanda Mills grabbed four steals in the game to go along
with four points.
The homestand continues on Monday night as the Blue Hose
will welcome Gardner-Webb to town at 7 p.m.
During the game, PC's coaches will lend support to Samaritan's Feet by
coaching the game barefooted. It is a
part of the Big South's "Barefoot for Bare Feet" initiative.
