HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Presbyterian College Blue Hose women's basketball team (19-14) emerged victorious over the No. 1 seeded High Point Panthers (20-11) in a riveting semifinal clash. With 42 rebounds and 38 points in the paint, the Blue Hose secured a remarkable 59-50 triumph, as they march towards the tournament finals for the first time ever.
 
COACH SHARP'S THOUGHTS
"What a game by our kids. I thought from the first five minutes of the game they wanted it. We came to hunt the win. We know that High Point is an unbelievable basketball team. I feel that our team togetherness won us the game. We shared the ball, and calmed our turnovers down in the second half. The best way I can describe our team is love. They have so much love for each other. I am proud of our team. We made history today with our program. That is what these players came to PC to do, they came to PC to change the culture and change the program. I am forever thankful. I have a lot of love for them and the effort they put on tonight."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – Bryanna Brady secured the opening tip for the Blue Hose and scored the first two points of the game. High Point responded with two points of their own, but Presbyterian College surged ahead with six consecutive points, led by a three-pointer from Tilda Sjökvist. Despite a three-pointer from the Panthers, Presbyterian went on a dominant run, scoring seven unanswered points to establish a 10-point lead, making it 15-5. Just before the media timeout, High Point managed to sink a three-pointer, but Sjökvist swiftly countered with another three-pointer for Presbyterian. With only five seconds remaining, the Blue Hose inbounded the ball to Sjökvist, who drained a jumper at the buzzer, extending PC's lead to 22-10.
 
Second Quarter – The Panthers started the second quarter off by scoring the first six points, but their streak quickly came to an end when Núria Cunill made a layup. Paige Kindseth contributed two points for the Blue Hose, but High Point managed to narrow PC's lead to just four points, with a score of 26-22. The teams exchanged baskets before heading into halftime, with the Blue Hose maintaining a lead of 30-27.
 
Third Quarter – Brady made an immediate impact by scoring the first four points for the Blue Hose. The Panthers managed to get on the scoreboard shortly after, but Presbyterian maintained their lead. High Point scored five of the next eight points, but the Blue Hose still held a narrow three-point lead as they headed into the media timeout, with the score at 37-34. High Point quickly leveled the score after the break, but Presby responded strongly, maintaining their lead with six points scored by three different players.
 
Fourth Quarter – After a scoreless first minute and a half, Brady broke the drought by sinking a two-point jumper for the Blue Hose. Christina Kline followed, adding two more points to extend the Blue Hose lead to 10 points with 7:41 on the clock. High Point managed to score four points, but Presbyterian responded with a combined effort from Sjökvist, Kindseth, and Kline, adding another six points to their tally, increasing their lead to 53-41 with 3:16 left to play. HPU then scored four points while holding Presbyterian to just two, but as the clock winded down, High Point was forced to resort to fouling. The Panthers made a four-point play with 28 seconds to go, but Sjökvist closed out the game with a pair of free throws which gave the Blue Hose a 59-50 victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Presbyterian is going to the finals of the Big South Tournament for the first time in program history.
- Coach Sharp beat High Point for the second time in her career and the first time in the postseason.
- Tilda Sjökvist put up 19 points, six rebounds, and five steals.
- Mara Neira tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
- Núria Cunill brought down 10 rebounds.
- Held High Point to a 33.3 field goal percentage.
- The Panthers are the Big South's scoring leaders, and the Blue Hose held them to 50 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Blue Hose move on to compete for the Big South Tournament title on Sunday, March 10 against the winner of the USC Upstate vs Radford game later tonight.