CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team
led through much of its matchup against High Point on Monday night, but the
Blue Hose dropped a hard-fought contest at Templeton Center, 63-51.
PC moves to 8-12 on the year and 2-7 in the Big South
Conference. High Point improves to 14-6 overall and 9-0 in league action.
The Blue Hose shot 50 percent (11-for-22) in the first half en
route to a 27-24 lead over league-leading High Point at halftime. Despite PC outshooting
the Panthers 43.1 percent (22-for-51) to 38.5 percent (20-for-52) on the night,
High Point outscored the Blue Hose 39-24 in the second half to take the win.
Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C.) led PC in scoring for the
second straight game with 16 points. Taylor knocked down all of the team's
three-pointers, converting four times out of five from long range. Mariah
Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and Sherece Smith (Clemson, S.C.) paced the
Blue Hose in rebounds, with each collecting six.
High Point's Erin Reynolds scored a game-high 26 points.
The Blue Hose gave the visitors all they could handle early on,
leading at the first two media timeouts and holding a 16-14 lead midway through
the first half. Five early points each from Pietrowski and Smith helped PC grab
the early advantage.
Chelsea Parker (Asheville, N.C.) extended the Blue Hose
advantage on a jumper as PC clung to the lead. A slick pass from Dria David (Lawrenceville, Ga.) into the
post led to a Burnside reverse layup to put PC up 19-14.
Five straight points from the Panthers tied the game at
19-19, however, with 7:24 left in the first half.
Taylor had an answer, pump-faking beyond the arc to create
an open look and drilling the three-point shot to restore PC's lead at 22-19.
The sophomore led the Blue Hose with eight points the half, including six from
long-range.
Noelle Carter (Neptune, N.J.) turned in one of the most
impressive plays in her young career, driving strong to the basket for a layup
that pushed PC's lead back to five with 3:33 remaining in the period and
prompted a High Point timeout.
High Point cut into PC's lead by two but the Blue Hose took
three points of breathing room into halftime, up 27-24.
The visitors came out of the locker room swinging, scoring six
straight points in the first 2:05 of the second half to lead 30-27 early in the
frame.
Moments later, Taylor knocked down her third trey of the
game to pull PC even, 34-34.
The two sides continued to battle for a lead and five points
from High Point put the Panthers ahead eight and a half minutes into the half, 42-36.
The duo of Pietrowski and Smith helped the Blue Hose claw
back with a 6-0 run of their own, tying the game for the eighth time at 44-44
with 9:04 remaining. The deadlock proved short-lived, however, as a five-point
High Point swing nudged the Panthers back ahead, 49-44.
Burnside also chipped in six points for the Blue Hose in the
final period. Burnside's efforts were part of 26 total PC points in the paint
and 15 points off the bench.
The home suqad pulled within two at 51-49 on a Taylor jumper
with 5:36 left, but High Point closed the game on a 12-2 run.
High Point held its lead down the stretch and took advantage
of the double bonus. Two free throws from Erin Reynolds with 1:44 left swelled the
Panthers' lead to 56-49, their biggest lead of the game. Three more Reynolds
free throws and a Tayler Tremblay layup put the game out of reach as High Point
took the win, 63-51.
PC returns to action on Saturday when the Blue Hose head to
Rock Hill, S.C., to face off against Winthrop at 2 p.m.
