January 4, 2005
BOX SCORE
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Longwood University dropped a 79-41 women’s basketball decision to Southeastern Conference (SEC) member University of Kentucky Tuesday evening at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. The first-time meeting between the Lancers (5-7) and the Wildcats (11-4) was a homecoming for 22nd year head coach Shirley Duncan. Coach Duncan graduated from UK in 1956 with a bachelors of arts in health and physical education.
Longwood had two players finish with double-digit points. Both senior forward/center Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) and senior forward/center Catherine Dunn/Aberdeen, N.J. (St. John Vianney) scored 10 points. Meldere added a team-high six rebounds, two steals and one block, while Dunn had three rebounds, and one assist. Kentucky had five players finished in double-digit points. Sara Potts, Chante Bowman and Sarah Elliott all led the way with 12 points.
The Lancers played the Wildcats tough in the first half, going into the locker room down 10, 35-25. Longwood made Kentucky turn the ball over 11 times in the first stanza, and held a 14-12 advantage in rebounds.
With the score 21-12, advantage Wildcats, the Lancers went on a 8-2 run to pull within three, 23-20, with 6:00 remaining before halftime. Dunn scored two layups and hit one of two free throws, and sophomore guard Abigail Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty) drained a three-pointer to put a scare into UK.
Kentucky rattled off five points to gain some breathing room, but a three-pointer by Dunn kept the game tight at 28-23. UK scored seven points over the final four minutes, while limiting LU to two, to go into half with its largest lead of the half.
The Lancers were able to cut the lead to eight early in the second half, but with the score 37-29 the Wildcats went on a 24-6 run over the next ten minutes to put the game out of reach for Longwood.
Besides Meldere and Dunn, junior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, made one steal and dished out one assist. Longwood finished the game shooting 27.8% (15-54) from the field, including 14.3% (2-14) on three-pointers and was 64.3% (9-14) from the charity stripe.
Also finishing in double-digits for Kentucky was Nastassia Alcius who finished with 11 and Jennifer Humphrey who added 10. The Wildcats shot 49.1% (28-57) from the field, including 35.7% (5-14) on three-pointers, and was 64.3% (18-28) from the free throw line.
