November 18, 2005
BOX SCOREFARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University earned a 72-58 women’s basketball decision over visiting Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round of the Lancer Invitational hosted at Willett Hall Friday night. The Lancers are now 1-0 on the season, while the Hawks fell to 0-1. Longwood was led by senior forwards Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne). Ashley Mason finished with a double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds - both game-highs, while Amber Mason added a career-high 20 points, one block and seven steals. Longwood will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, November 19 when they face Florida International in the championship contest of the Lancer Invitational at 4:00 p.m.
The Hawks held an early 8-5 advantage at the 16:42 mark, but a 7-3 run by the Lancers gave Longwood a 15-8 lead; a lead it would never relinquish. Longwood pushed its lead to 10 points, 29-19 at the 5:58 mark when Ashley Mason sank two free throws. The Hawks sliced the Lancers lead to 29-22 on a layup by Rachael Goodwin, but Longwood scored the final 13 out of 16 points of the first half to hold a 17-point advantage, 42-25, at halftime. Ashley Mason scored eight of LU’s final points, while freshman Claire Blevins/Chantilly (Chantilly) and Amber Mason both scored two points a piece.
Longwood continued to pull away early in the second stanza as Blevins made a layup at the 16:10 mark to give Longwood a 48-29 cushion. The Lancers would gain their largest lead of the game at the 4:35 mark when Amber Mason sank two free throws to give Longwood a a 20-point lead at 69-49. Maryland-Eastern Shore closed out the game on a 9-3 run to give Longwood a final victory score of 72-58.
Besides Ashley and Amber Mason, the Lancers were led by Blevins and junior guard Abigail Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem) who scored eight and six points, respectively. Blevins also added six rebounds, while Freese dished out four assists and made one steal. LU shot 46.8% (22-47) from the field, including 25.0% (4-16) on three-pointers, and 80.0% (24-30) from the charity stripe. Longwood also held the 43-34 edge in total rebounds.
The Hawks were led by Kristi Veltkamp who had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. DeVaughn Hailey added 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Maryland-Eastern Shore shot 27.9% (17-61) from the field, including 15.0% (3-20) on three-pointers, and was 60.0% (21-35) at the free throw line.
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In the first game of the Lancer Invitational, Florida International defeated Gardner-Webb by the score of 65-57. Gardner-Webb will face Maryland-Eastern Shore at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow in the consolation game.
