The end of a women’s college basketball game Wednesday night was marred by a fight.
With less than 15 seconds remaining and her team down by 14 points, Winthrop forward Tocarra Johnson started slugging High Point forward Nevaeh Zavala after Zavala grabbed Johnson while defending her.
Johnson’s first swing with her left hand hit Zavala in the face, and some of her ensuing blows hit Zavala in the back of the head.
Teammates, coaches and referees immediately rushed in to try to break things up as Zavala did not retaliate.
Johnson then calmed down and returned to the Winthrop bench.
It did not appear that Johnson was ejected before the end of High Point’s 88-74 victory in Rock Hill, S.C.
Johnson, a junior, finished with 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting with eight rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
She’s averaging 6.0 points and 7.1 rebounds in 23 games this season.
Zavala did not score in 36 minutes, recording four rebounds and three assists. The senior starter is averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 23 games.
High Point has been the class of the Big South conference so far during the 2025-26 campaign, improving to 10-0 in league play with the win and 21-2 overall. The victory was the Panthers’ 11th straight.
Winthrop, meanwhile, fell to 4-6 in conference play, and the Eagles are 11-13 overall.
High Point is the reigning Big South champion, and Zavala was the star of the Panthers’ win in the conference title game over Longwood last March, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
They were given a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to fellow No. 16 seed William & Mary in the First Four, 69-63.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
