February 12, 2004
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University senior Erica Marcum/Charleston, W.Va. (George Washington) scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Lancers past visiting Virginia Union 72-59 Thursday evening in Lancer Hall. She helped the host squad avenge its earlier 83-67 loss to the Panthers on Jan. 15 in Richmond.
Marcum netted seven of nine attempts from the field – all from three-point territory – to give Longwood its fourth-straight win and improve the team’s record to 15-8 on the season, while Virginia Union dropped their third-straight contest and falls to 19-5 overall. Longwood will rest for the next 13 days until it hosts Southern Virginia Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in Lancer Hall.
Longwood jumped out to an early 17-10 lead at the 12:58 mark, sparked by three buckets in two minutes from sophomore Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne). The Lancers extended their margin to 10 points, stretching the score to 24-14 with just under nine minutes to play as Longwood netted seven unanswered points capped off by a trey from sophomore Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne). Longwood continued to control the half, getting its largest lead (35-24) of the stanza with 3:25 left to play before Virginia Union cut the advantage to 36-33 at the break after going on its own 9-1 run.
The two teams remained close through the opening minutes of the second period and the visiting Panthers got within four points (55-51) of the host squad before Marcum nailed two of her seven treys and hit a free throw to give Longwood the decisive 64-51 advantage. The Lancers never looked back and continued to outscore Virginia Union, maintaining their double-digit lead down the stretch.
In addition to Marcum’s game-high and career-best night of 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting, she also contributed six assists and a steal in 33.10 minutes of play. Junior Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) aided the scoring effort, adding her 14th double-double on the season of 10 points and 14 boards, while junior transfer Catherine Dunn/Aberdeen, N.J. (St. John Vianney) got 13 points, seven rebounds, and dished out four assists. Amber Mason also had a double-digit night, scoring 11 points, while getting five steals and passing out four assists. Longwood shot 39.1 percent (25-64) from the field, including 47.8 percent (11-23) from beyond the arc, and 68.8 percent (11-16) at the stripe.
Virginia Union center Danielle Hoggard paced the Panthers with her team-best 20 points and eight boards, while leading scorer Pria Stellmacher registered 13 points on the night with 11 turnovers. Shaaron Atkins also chipped in 10 points for the visiting team. VUU shot 45.8 percent (27-59) from the floor and 62.5 percent (5-8) at the line, while remaining scoreless (0-for-7) from beyond the arc.
