November 19, 2004
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University senior Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Lancers women’s basketball team past visiting Division I opponent Winthrop University 76-45 Friday evening in the Lancer Invitational held at Willett Hall. Longwood, who was playing in its first game of the 2004-05 season and who is in its second year of its four-year Division I reclassification period toward official certification, will play Davidson University in the championship game of the tournament Saturday, November 21 at 4:00 p.m.. Davidson defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 65-60 in the early game of the Lancer Invitational.
Longwood jumped out to an early 16-5 lead at the 10:23 mark, sparked by 10 straight points over a five minute span, including three-pointers by both junior guard Jessica Wilkerson/Roanoke (Northside) and junior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne). The Lancers extended their margin to 24 points, holding a 33-9 advantage with just over three minutes to play in the first stanza. Longwood forced four turnovers in the seven-minute span and held the Eagles to 20.0 percent shooting over that time period.
The Lancers kept the Eagles at arms distance in the second stanza. With the score 48-32 at the 11:19 mark, Longwood scored 13 straight points, including three-pointers by sophomore guard Ashleigh Hollman/Centreville (Westfield), Wilkerson and junior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) to put the game out of reach for Winthrop.
In addition to Meldere’s game-high of 17 points on 4-for-10 shooting and 9-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe, four other Lancers scored in double-figure points. Amber Mason finished the game with 13 points, while Ashley Mason and Wilkerson both added 11. Wilkerson also dished out four assists, while Amber Mason blocked three shots and made two steals. Longwood shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the field, including 52.6 percent (10-19) from behind the three-point arc, and 60.0 percent (12-20) at the stripe.
Winthrop’s Ashley Carey paced the Eagles with her team-best 15 points and four boards, while Jessica Dukes added ten points and grabbed six rebounds. The Eagles shot 34.6 percent (18-52) from the floor and 55.6 percent (5-9) from the line, while hitting only 28.6 percent (4-14) of their three-point attempts.
