Women’s Basketball Cages Lees-McRae 73-72

Senior Ebony Smith tallied her first double-double of season at Lees-McRae Saturday.

November 29, 2003

Banner Elk, N.C. – The Longwood University women’s basketball team overcame an early second-half 13-point deficit to defeat Lees-McRae 73-72 this afternoon in the Williams Physical Education Center. The Lancers are now 3-4 and take on St. Paul’s Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Lancer Hall, while the Bobcats fall to 0-3.

Both teams came out strong on the defensive end in the first half. Longwood took an early 13-9 lead after sophomore Jessica Wilkerson (Roanoke, Va./Northside) stole the ball at half court and scored on a fast-break. Lees-McRae scored off two forced turnovers and took a 17-13 lead with 9:49 left in the half. An Ashleigh Hollman (Centreville, Va./Westfield) three-pointer put the Lancers ahead 25-23. The Bobcats then went on a 14-7 run to take a 37-32 lead into the break.

In the second half, Lees-McRae opened up the lead to 13 points on a three-pointer from Lindsay Pope and Longwood found themselves down 49-36 with 17:22 left. Junior All-American candidate Marita Meldere (Rujiena, Lativa/Lynchburg Christian) scored four-straight baskets to pull the Lancers with in five. Freshman Rebecca Charles (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston) completed the Lancers’ 10-0 run with a lay-up at the 14:16 mark. Lees-McRae then scored on back-to-back threes, putting the lead back up to nine. Longwood eventually tied the game at 59-59 on a pair of free throws and led for the first time since the six-minute mark of the first half on an Ebony Smith (Palmyra, Va./Fluvanna County) turn-around jumper. Lees-McRae pushed the lead back up to four, but another bucket from Smith gave the Lancers the lead for good. A made free throw from senior Erica Marcum (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington), followed by jumpers from Meldere and Charles sealed the come-back victory for the Lancers.

Meldere led all scorers with 26 points, tying her season high, and also grabbed eight rebounds. Smith tallied her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Marcum chipped in 10 points and four rebounds. Hollman dished out a career-high six assists and had eight points. Longwood shot a season-best 41.2 percent from the floor (28-of-66), including 45.7 percent in the second half. The Lancers also had a season-low 14 turnovers while forcing 19 and held the rebound advantage 39-38.

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