Final Stats

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Kyndal Skersick and Raven Williams each recorded a season-high in points, but High Point's Kaylah Keys proved to be too much, as the Panthers defeated the Longwood women's basketball team, 81-60, Tuesday night at the Millis Center.

The game was the conference opener for both squads, as Longwood falls to 0-6 for the season and 0-1 in the Big South. High Point, the 2013-14 Big South regular season champions, improve to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference  

"We have to be pleased with our effort in the second half," said head coach Bill Reinson. "Being down 19 at halftime, we could've easily stopped competing. Instead, we showed a lot of fight. This was a good step for us and now we have to build on it as we move forward."

Williams finished with a team-best 19 points, while Skersick notched 18 points to post her fourth double-digit scoring output of the season. Khalilah Ali also posted seven points, while Brenna Robbins led the Lancers on the boards with five.

"I was excited to get conference play started," Williams said after finishing one point shy of her career-high. "High Point is one of the best teams in the conference. We showed in the second half that we can stick with them and I wanted to step up for my teammates."

High Point had three players finish in double figures, as Keys, the conference's second leading scorer entering the night, finished with a game-high 21 points. Kat Harris (12) and Stacia Robertson (10) also finished in double figures for the Panthers.

The game opened with the Panthers clinging to a three point advantage at the first media timeout with 15:48 remaining in the half. Skersick paced the Lancer attack early in the contest, as she scored eight of her 10 first half points in the opening 12 minutes.

High Point stretched its lead to 14 points with a 17-6 run over a stretch of 7:03 to take a 24-10 advantage at the 8:45 mark of the first half. This run was sparked by Katie Vincent, who hit two consecutive treys in a span of just more than one minute.

"Our starting frontcourt of Brenna Robbins and Khalilah Ali played a combined eight minutes in the first half due to fouls," Reinson said. "They've been two of our most consistent players and we struggled without them on the floor."

The teams went to the halftime locker room with the Panthers holding a 43-24 advantage. Williams posted 12 points in the half to lead all scorers, while Skersick also scored in double figures in the opening stanza with 10 points.

Keys led a balanced Panthers attack in the first 20 minutes with nine points. In addition, Stacia Robertson (8), Kat Harris (7), DeAnneisha Jackson (7) and Teddy Vincent (6) each scored at least six points in the opening 20 minutes.  

The two teams traded baskets to begin the second half, before High Point stretched its lead to a 23-point advantage, 54-31, with 11:57 to play. The Lancers drew within 17 points, 60-43, following a Robbins layup that forced a Panther timeout at the 8:20 mark in the game, but that is as close as Longwood would get the rest of the way.

Keys extended the Panthers advantage to 20 points with a three-point field goal following the timeout. This was part of a stretch of eight straight points for Keys, as the Panthers went on to seal the victory at the foul line by hitting six free throws down the stretch.

"We played with a lot more heart than we did in the first half," Williams said." In the first half, we had a lot of fouls. Even though we were down, we had nothing to lose and fought till the end."

The Lancers will conclude their three-game road stretch on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Virginia Tech. The opening tip is set for 2 p.m., inside Cassell Coliseum.

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