November 20, 2004
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University dropped a 60-50 decision to Davidson College in the Championship game of the Lancer Invitational at Willett Hall Saturday afternoon. The Lancers (1-1) will be back in action Tuesday, November 23 when they face off against William and Mary in Williamsburg. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Longwood scored the first points of the contest, a three-pointer by junior guard Jessica Wilkerson/Roanoke (Northside), but Davidson (2-1) scored the next seven points to pull ahead 7-3 at 17:16. The Wildcats were able to increase their lead to 14, 33-19, with 2:38 remaining in the first half, but two free throws by senior forward Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) and a bucket by junior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) pulled the Lancers within eight, 33-25, with a little over a minute to play before intermission. Katie Hamilton of Davidson hit a three-pointer to close out the half and give the Wildcats the 11-point halftime lead.
The Lancers clawed their way back going on a 12-2 run to start off the second half. After a made free throw by the Wildcats Tia Washington made it 37-25, Wilkerson made a layup, senior forward Catherine Dunn/Aberdeen, N.J. (St. John Vianney) drained a three-pointer and hit one-of-two free throws, while Ashley Mason followed with a layup. Washington was able to stop Longwood’s scoring run when she again made one free throw, but a bucket by Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and a jumper by Meldere made the score 38-37 with 12 minutes to play in the contest.
The Lancers kept it close for the next six minutes before the Wildcats slowly started to pull away. With the score 41-40, Davidson scored the next 16 out of 22 points to hold the 12-point edge with 2:57 left. Amber Mason and Meldere both scored to close out the game and make the final score 60-50
Meldere led Longwood with her first double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 13 points and grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. Dunn, Wilkerson and Amber Mason all chipped in nine points. LU shot 30.9 % (17-55) from the field, including 19% (4-21) on three-pointers, and 70.6% (12-17) at the charity stripe.
Davidson was led by Emily Callahan who scored a game-high 17 points and had eight rebounds, while both Cara Reed and Katie Hamilton chipped in 11 points a piece. The Wildcats shot 49.0% from the field (25-51), including 33.3% (6-18) on three-pointers, and made 50% (4-8) of its free throws.
Meldere and Wilkerson both earned All-Tournament honors for the Lancers, while Hamilton earned MVP honors for the tournament. Rounding out the All-Tournament team was Callahan, Kay Odenwaelder of Fairleigh Dickinson and Iva Milevoj of Winthrop.
