Bulldogs Fall 72-67 to High Point in Big South Tournament

HIGH POINT, N.C. - High Point made 7-of-8 free throws in the final 38 seconds and Mackenzie Maier's record-setting blocked shot performance helped the No. 2 seed Panthers defeat a valiant UNC Asheville squad, 72-67 in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Advance Auto Parts Women's Basketball Championship, Friday, March 13. High Point advances to the Semifinals and will host No. 6 seed Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs, who were down by 12 with 8:43 left in the second half, came back to cut the the High Point lead to two on a Linda Aughburn's layup with 13 seconds on the clock. A made free throw by LaTeisha Dean gave High Point a three-point advantage (70-67) with 12 seconds left. After the Bulldogs inbounded the ball, Kendall Shepard drove to the basket and attempted a layup, but Maier was there to record her seventh block of the game with just three seconds remaining in the contest. Maier hit two foul shots to give the game its final score of 72-67.

The Panthers jumped out to a 20-8 lead in the first seven minutes of the contest, but the Bulldogs clawed back as they outscored High Point 17-9 over the following seven minutes of action. Shepard's layup with 6:01 left in the half cut the High Point lead to four (29-25). That was a close as Asheville would get in the half as the Panthers proceeded to go on a 12-0 run and extended their lead to 16 (41-25). However, the Bulldogs managed to decrease High Point's lead to 45-37 by the halftime buzzer.

High Point shot a blistering 62.5 percent (20-of-32) in the first half. Asheville was at 47.1 percent for the half on 16-34 shooting. Aughburns had eight points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs in the half. Shepard had seven first half points. Jurica Hargreaves led High Point with 10 points. LaTeisha Dean, Frances Fields and Maier all had eight points in the half.

Ana Baker opened up the scoring in the second half with a jumper. Two foul shots from Jessica Monroe at the 18:15 mark decreased the High Point lead to four again (45-41), but the Panthers outscored Asheville 12-4 over the next minutes of action. Lindsey Montogemery scored a layup with 1:43 remaining to make the score 65-61 in High Point's favor. Two free throws by Montgomery at the 1:02 mark decreased the Panther's lead to two (65-63), but it was as closed as the Bulldogs would get in the waning moments of the contest.

Aughburns led Asheville with 18 points and nine rebounds. Baker was the second-leading scoring with 14 points in her final game as a Bulldog. Montgomery recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Shepard also had 11 points. Jurica Hargrave's led the Panther's with 18 point and was six-of-six from the foul line. Maier had 16 points and Fields had 14 points.

The loss gives Asheville a final record of 10-20. High Point (15-15) clinches its second consecutive berth in the Big South Semifinals and fifth appearance under Head Coach Tooey Loy.

High Point Head Coach Tooey Loy
“We played hard and we battled for 40 minutes. UNC Asheville played extremely hard, and it took everything we had. Give Asheville credit, they really came to play.”

UNC Asheville Head Coach Betsy Blose
“We needed another minute (in the game). HPU has a great team, very talented. Our kids showed a lot of courage. Down the stretch, transition and the post ? we fought hard. If we had one more minute, I think we could have pulled it off. I'm glad I had the opportunity to coach Ana Baker. She is a great player and really came on this season.”

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Bulldogs Fall 72-67 to High Point in Big South Tournament

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