January 20, 2005
Lynchburg, Va. – Longwood University dropped a 76-58 decision to host Liberty in a women’s basketball game this evening at the Vines Center in Lynchburg. The Lancers (7-9), who drained a season-tying 11 three-pointers, were led by sophomore guard Abigail Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem) who tied her career-high of 18 points on six three-pointers. Freese also added two rebounds, five assists and one steal. The Flames (10-5) were led by Katie Feenstra who scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, both game-highs. LU will be back in action when they close out a three-game road swing with a contest at Elon University Wednesday, January 26. Game time is slated for noon.
Liberty jumped out to an early 21-11 lead after a layup by Feenstra gave the Flames the early 10-point cushion. Longwood rallied back with a 10-4 run of its own to cut the lead to four as Freese and freshman forward Leigh Mascherin/Greensboro, N.C. (Ragsdale) both hit three-pointers and senior forward/center Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) scored two buckets. However, the Flames built their lead back to 10 and went into intermission with a 40-30 advantage over the Lancers.
Longwood finished the first half sinking seven three-pointers. Freese led the way connecting on three, while Mascherin tallied two and junior guard Jessica Wilkerson/Roanoke (Northside) and freshman guard Keiva Small/Norview (Norview) both hit one.
The Lancers fought back hard in the second half, going on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 57-44 with 10:53 remaining in the contest. Freese and junior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) closed out the run by sinking back-to-back three-pointers for LU.
An 11-4 run by Liberty gave the Flames a 20-point cushion at 68-48, but Longwood was able to slash the lead to 13 at the 2:35 mark. Sophomore forward Rebecca Charles/South Charleston, W.Va. (South Charleston) made the score 70-57 after she converted a three-point play for the Lancers.
That would be as close as the Lancers would get as Liberty would increase its lead to 20 on a Feenstra jumper before ending the game with the 18-point victory.
In addition to Freese, Meldere added 11 points, six rebounds, one assist and one block, while Small contributed eight points, two rebounds and one assist. Longwood shot 31.0% (18-58) from the field, including 36.7% (11-30) on three-pointers, and was 68.8% (11-16) from the charity stripe.
Along with Feenstra, Kristal Tharp and Daina Staugaitiene also scored in double-figures, finishing with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Tharp also added 11 rebounds and three assists, while Staugaitiene added five rebounds and three assists. The Flames shot 43.7% (31-71) from the field, including 30.0% (3-10) on three-pointers, and was 78.6% (11-14) at the free throw line.
