Mar. 5—HIGH POINT — High Point University will look to capture its first Big South Conference women’s basketball tournament title when play starts next.
The Panthers, after winning the regular-season championship, will be the top seed and receive a first-round bye in the 10-team single-elimination tournament that starts Saturday and concludes Sunday, March 14.
The tournament begins with two games Saturday — No. 10 Charleston Southern at No. 7 UNC Asheville and No. 9 USC Upstate at No. 8 Winthrop — before playing the quarterfinals Monday and the semifinals Thursday.
High Point will face the winner of the USC Upstate-Winthrop game on Monday scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Millis Center on ESPN3.
All games will be at the higher seed, and the semifinals and championship will be on ESPN+.
The Panthers, who won 17 of their final 19 games, finished the regular season with a 19-6 record overall, a 17-3 record in the conference and their third Big South regular-season title.
HPU DUO EARN CONFERENCE AWARDS
HIGH POINT — High Point University’s Chris Van Niekerk and Zoe Geis were included in the Big South Conference’s weekly outdoor track and field awards, the conference announced Wednesday.
Van Niekerk was named the men’s field athlete of the week after recording the nation’s top distance in the discus with a throw of 54.90m (180-01) at the Perry Palooza Early Bird Classic. The mark is No. 4 on the Big South’s all-time list.
Geis was selected the women’s track athlete of the week following her performance in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Perry Palooza Early Bird Classic. He ran it in 10:19.04 — which is second-best in Big South history and currently first on the national list.
HPU MEN’S LACROSSE, VIRGINIA
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Virginia narrowly held on to beat High Point 12-11 in a battle of ranked opponents Wednesday in men’s lacrosse in Klockner Stadium.
The Cavaliers, ranked No. 9 in the week 3 Inside Lacrosse poll, quickly led 6-1 before the 19th-ranked Panthers evened it 6-6 and stayed within 8-6 into halftime.
Virginia led 11-7 and 12-8 before High Point scored the final three goals of the match, pulling within two with 7:40 remaining but not getting closer until the final seconds.
Dalton Sulver and Kevin Rogers each had two goals and an assist to lead the Panthers (1-3), while Asher Nolting had one goal and two assists. Brayden Mayea also scored two goals to highlight the High Point offense.
Parker Green made 15 saves in goal.
Matt Moore had three goals and two assists to key the Cavaliers (4-1).
HPU WOMEN’S LACROSSE, DAVIDSON
HIGH POINT — Davidson edged High Point University 15-14 in overtime Wednesday in nonconference women’s lacrosse at Vert Stadium.
Ashley Britton scored five goals to lead the Panthers (1-4), who lost in overtime for the second straight match. Abby Hormes added three goals and two assists, while Rachel Foster had three goals to highlight High Point.
Sarah Zeto made eight saves in goal.
Davidson, which led 8-5 at halftime, scored three straight to lead 12-9 midway through the second half before the Panthers tied it 13-13 with 6:12 remaining in the match. Each team scored once in the final 30 seconds to force overtime.
Davidson (4-1), which was led by Sam Rippley with five goals, tallied the winner with 3:32 left in overtime.
AREA ATHLETES NAMED TO METRO ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
Seventeen area athletes have been named to the Metro 4A All-Conference teams for cross-country, volleyball, swimming and basketball.
The selections were:
High Point Central — volleyball: Abbie Behe and Emma Burks; boys cross-country: Logan Anderson; boys basketball: Tre Hill; girls basketball: Anna Krajisnik.
Ragsdale — volleyball: Keira Zarger; boys cross-country: John Howard and Josh Osorio; boys swimming: Robert Tars; girls swimming — Bayleigh Cranford; boys basketball: Jah Saigo, Aaron Fant and Kobe Parker; girls basketball: Katarina Maros, Christian Atwater, Alyssa Bradford, Victoria Boddie and Ben Bradford (coach of the year).
HPC-TWA FOOTBALL SPECTATORS
HIGH POINT — Limited fans from both schools will be allowed in to watch archrivals High Point Central and T.W. Andrews play tonight at 7 in A.J. Simeon Stadium.
There will be 500 tickets sold at the gate on each side of the stadium. Fans will be required to stay on the side where they purchase their ticket and will not be allowed to go to the other side. Concessions will be available on both sides.
High Point Central will be the home team this year.
Fans also will be required to follow all COVID-19 protocols — including wearing face masks at all times, answering a COVID attestation and remaining 6 feet apart.
BASEBALL WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN, GREENSBORO DAY
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian crushed Greensboro Day 11-1 in five innings Wednesday in nonconference baseball at Wesleyan’s new field.
The Trojans (1-0) scored eight runs in the first inning to take control.
LACROSSE SW GUILFORD, ATKINS
HIGH POINT — Southwest Guilford defeated Atkins 14-4 in Conference 13 boys lacrosse Wednesday at Southwest.
The Cowboys improved to 4-4 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
In the girls match, Southwest lost 18-7. The Cowgirls dipped to 1-8 overall and 1-5 in Conference 11.
RAGSDALE, PAGE
JAMESTOWN — Ragsdale lost 7-4 against Page in Conference 9 girls lacrosse Wednesday at Ragsdale.
The Tigers, who trailed 4-2 at halftime, dipped to 1-7 overall and 1-7 in the conference.
SOCCER BISHOP McGUINNESS, SE GUILFORD
KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness lost 3-0 against Southeast Guilford in nonconference boys soccer Wednesday at Bishop.
The Villains dropped to 5-5 overall.
EAST DAVIDSON, SALISBURY
SALISBURY — East Davidson lost 3-0 against Salisbury in Central Carolina 2A Conference boys soccer Wednesday at Salisbury.
The Golden Eagles dipped to 2-5-2 overall and 2-3 in the CCC.
GLENN, DAVIE CO.
KERNERSVILLE — Glenn won 4-2 against Davie County in Central Piedmont 4A Conference boys soccer Wednesday at Glenn.
Christian Mendoza scored two goals for the Bobcats (2-9 overall, 2-6 CPC), who led 4-1 at halftime. Luis Rosales-Hernandez and Aldo Gonzales each made a save in goal.
THOMASVILLE, WEST DAVIDSON
THOMASVILLE — Thomasville tied West Davidson 1-1 in Central Carolina 2A Conference boys soccer Wednesday at Thomasville.
Ivan Robles scored off an assist by Pablo Rodriguez for the Bulldogs (4-1-3 overall, 3-1-2 CCC). Brandon Perez made six saves in goal.
TRINITY — Trinity raced past Randleman 8-2 in PAC-7 2A boys soccer Wednesday at Trinity.
The Bulldogs, who led 6-0 at halftime, improved to 5-2-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the conference.
