January 12, 2004

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University erased a 13-point deficit to start the game en route to a 66-59 victory over visiting Francis Marion (S.C.) Monday night in Lancer Hall.  With their seventh win in eight games, the Lancers improve to 11-6 on the season; while the Patriots drop to 7-4.  Longwood will return to action Thursday, Jan. 15, as they travel to Richmond to take on Virginia Union.

In the first half, the visiting squad jumped out to an early 13-0 lead as Longwood was scoreless until sophomore Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) hit a field at the 12:22 mark to put the Lancers on the board.  The host school fought back with 25-9 run to lead 30-26 at halftime.  Longwood continued its control of the game during the second stanza, stretching the advantage to as many as 17 points (52-35, 9:32).  The Patriots, however, put together a late second half rally courtesy of Jennifer Howard, who hit three-consecutive shots from three-point territory to put her team within reach, the latter trey tying the game at 57-57 with 3:45 remaining.  Senior Erica Marcum/Charleston, W.Va. (George Washington) then provided Longwood with a much-needed steal and lay-up with 35-seconds left that sealed the win for the Lancers. 

Ashley Mason paced the Lancers with her second career double-double – first of the season – of 21 points and 13 rebounds.  Mason went 9-13 from the floor and 2-4 from the foul line, while hitting one trey and getting one steal, one block, and two assists.  In addition to Mason’s team-best night, freshman Ashleigh Hollman/Centreville (Westfield) added her own double-digits of 11 points, including three treys, while Marcum finished with seven points and a team-high four assists.  Senior Ebony Smith/Palmyra (Fluvanna Co.) also contributed seven points and pulled down eight boards.  Longwood shot 37.3 percent (26-67) from the floor, including 30.0 percent (6-20) from three-point territory and shot 47.6 percent (10-21) at the foul line. 

Howard led the visiting Patriots with her game-high 25 points, including four treys, while Danielle Moore contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.  Francis Marion shot 42.3 percent (22-52) from the field, 33.3 (5-15) from beyond the arc, and 76.9 percent from the line.