A Rivalry Renewed: Campbell Women's Basketball defeats High Point 60-47

Buies Creek, NC- Conference realignment doesn't always mean the demise of long-standing rivalries. This season marks Campbell's second year in the CAA after spending 12 seasons in the Big South from 2011-2023. High Point and Campbell are familiar foes dating back to their days sharing a conference, and have played each other 39 times since 2001-02. Despite it's new place on the schedule, this game had the excitement and feel of a conference showdown.

"It's always a lot of fun when we play High Point. It's super competitive and a big rivalry game for us..." -Campbell's Courtney Dahlquist, who had 12 points on 4-6 shooting from three-point range.

Courtney Dahlquist | Credit: Campbell Athletics

"We want to play them [High Point] every year because we got better this week. Chelsea [Banbury] is an amazing coach and they do some really difficult stuff to guard, probably as hard as anybody we play. I can't tell you how much we learned this week preparing for what they do. It's a huge rivalry and you want to win the game but we get better from playing them..." - Campbell Head Coach Ronny Fisher on the rivalry with High Point

Not only do these teams know each other very well, but they also share similar philosophies. Ronny Fisher of Campbell and Chelsea Banbury of High Point share a defensive-minded approach and consistently have their programs in the top 100 in the country in scoring defense. "It all starts with getting the stops...you got to make them miss first", Coach Fisher said postgame.

This game was a defensive masterclass by the Camels, led by Gemma Nunez, who recorded 5 steals and 2 blocks. Early on, both teams struggled to get into much of an offensive flow, but once the freshmen duo of Olivia Tucker and Jasmine Felton found a groove, Campbell was able to take control of a one-point lead at the break.

Jasmine Felton | Credit: Campbell Athletics

Coming out of the second half, Campbell Forward Courtney Dahlquist hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Camels a nine-point advantage. For the Panthers, the three-point shot wasn't falling largely due to Campbell's ability to guard the line. However, a strong second half from Dom Nesland for High Point, who was 7-8 from the free throw line in the second half, gave High Point life. High Point showed a lot of resiliency and fought back to a losing margin of 13 points after being down as many as 24.

There was a lot to like in this one if you're a Camels fan. I was particularly impressed with the impact of the freshmen. Jasmine Felton led all scorers with 14 and Ciar Alexander tallied 13 in the win. It speaks volumes to how much Coach Fisher believes in this young group when two freshmen led the Camels in scoring in a rivalry game against a tough High Point team. As the season progresses, look for the responsibility and opportunity to continue to increase for Mikayla Taborn, Emerson Thompson, Olivia Tucker, Jasmine Felton, and Ciara Alexander. As this group develops, the Camel's ceiling continues to rise.

High Point's next game is at home against the University of Denver on Sunday, November 17th, 2024 at noon on ESPN+. Campbell takes on ETSU at home on Tuesday, November 19th, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. on Flo College. Follow along on X (@TrevorEverette) for live game updates, and for more of my work on House of College Hoops and House Enterprise, head here.