Brown's Game-Winner Sends No. 4 High Point into Semifinals
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Trailing by one in the closing seconds High Point University women's basketball sophomore Camryn Brown hit a 30-foot trifecta at the buzzer to clinch a 62-60 victory over Presbyterian on Friday in the Big South Championship quarterfinals.
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POSTGAME REACTION
The Panthers (17-13) led by eight, 53-45, with 8:41 to play before the Blue Hose (12-18) fought back with a 12-0 run and held a one-point lead with 40 seconds to play. In the final defensive possession, redshirt-junior Kennedy Currie blocked PC's shot and grabbed the board giving HPU one final chance.
After the Blue Hose ran the clock down giving two fouls, HPU inbounded from the wing getting the ball to Brown with 2.3 seconds left. Brown sized up her defender and launched a shot fading to her right and hit nothing but net giving HPU the 62-60 win.
The victory sends High Point to the semifinals for the first time in three years where they will meet host and top-seed Liberty at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
While it was Brown with the late-game heroics, the trio of Emma Bockrath and Shea Morgan and Currie kept the Purple & White in the game throughout the afternoon. Bockrath nearly had a double-double at halftime and finished with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to go with four assists and three steals.
Meanwhile, Morgan finished with a team-high 16 points and grabbed eight boards. Similarly, Currie registered her second double-double of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Overall, the Panthers controlled the glass earning a +17 margin (43-26) and outshot the Blue Hose 42.3 percent to 37.9. However, it was PC's ability to knock down long-range shots that kept the team close hitting 12-of-33 from three-point land. The Panthers, on the other hand, were 4-of-14 before Brown's late-game heroics.
Brown finished with 11 points and three assists. Her last-second three-pointer allowed HPU to eclipse 60 points and improve to 9-0 when doing that against Big South foes.
Along with Bockrath and Morgan, junior Lindsey Edwards played all 40 minutes hounding Storey, who finished with 22 points, but needed 18 shots.
Bockrath scored the contest's first five points before PC's 9-0 run gave the Blue Hose a 9-5 edge with 2:54 left in the first. From there, Bockrath stayed hot as Morgan joined her in double figures as the Panthers built a 28-21 advantage. However, PC fought back closing the half on a 14-2 run to enter the break up 35-30.
After the Blue Hose extended its lead to eight, the Panthers responded with an 11-0 run that featured a clutch three-pointer from senior Hunter Fleming to take a 46-43 advantage last in the third. But once HPU's lead reached eight, Presbyterian answered taking a 57-53 lead with 4:18 to play.
Two layups by Currie and a pair of free throws from Brown helped cut the deficit to one on the last possession for each team. Currie and Brown continued their strong finish as Currie picked up a huge block – her second – to set up Brown's clutch game-winner.