January 5, 2004

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University junior Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) led all scorers with a season-best 25 points, adding 15 rebounds to propel the Lancers past Queens (N.C.) 71-60 in women’s college basketball Monday night in Lancer Hall.  Meldere was a perfect 9-9 from the foul line while posting her eighth double-double of the season.  With its fifth-straight win, Longwood improves to 9-5 on the season and will return to action Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Wingate (N.C.).

Longwood fell behind early, trailing Queens 8-3 with 16:54 remaining in the first half.  The Royals continued to stay ahead, maintaining their lead until midway through the period when Meldere connected on her fourth field goal of the contest to tie the score at 18-18.  The two teams then traded buckets until a pair of free throws by Meldere just 1:51 prior to the intermission gave the Lancers a 29-27 lead en route to a 33-27 halftime advantage.  Longwood extended the margin to as many as 13 points in the second half (54-41, 11:42) before Queens closed to within 66-60 with just 3:09 remaining.  The Lancers secured the triumph with 3-4 free throws over the final 48-seconds.

In addition to Meldere’s game-high efforts, junior Catherine Dunn/Aberdeen, N.J. (St. John Vianney) also had a career-high night with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, while senior Ebony Smith/Palmyra (Fluvanna County) contributed her second double-double of the season with 14 points and a season-best 13 rebounds.  Longwood shot 36.2 percent (25-69) from the field, including 12.5 percent (2-16) from beyond the arc, and 79.2 percent (19-24) at the line.

Carmen Waterman and Sarah Newman, each with 10 points, led the Royals.  Queens (4-4) shot 33.9 percent (21-62) from the field, including 22.2 percent (4-18) from three-point territory, and 77.8 percent (14-18) at the line.