HPU women fall in first round
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Fifteenth-seeded High Point University lost 102-61 against second-seeded Vanderbilt on Saturday in Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym in the opening round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament. Macy Spencer scored 27 points, making seven 3-pointers, to lead the Panthers (27-6), who concluded their best season in the program's Division I history.
Nevaeh Zavala added nine points, making 4 of 6 from the field, and eight rebounds, while Aaliyah Collins had six points and three assists. The Commodores scored 18 of the game's first 20 points to lead big in the first four minutes and carried a 30-13 advantage to the second. Vanderbilt led by 25 before taking a 54-32 lead into halftime.
Its lead hit 30 in the third and peaked in the final seconds of the game. Mikayla Blakes, the country's top scorer, scored 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting to lead the Commodores (28-4). Aubrey Galvan followed with 17 points and six assists, while Ava Black had 12 points.
Sacha Washington, who had 17 rebounds, and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, who had 11 rebounds, each scored 10 points. Vanderbilt will host either seventh-seeded Illinois or 10th-seeded Colorado in the second round Monday.