December 29, 2005
BOX SCORE
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Longwood University dropped a 76-66 women’s basketball decision to Marshall University in the consolation game of the Lady Luck Tournament hosted by Virginia Tech this evening. The loss drops the Lancers overall record to 3-10, while the Thundering Herd improved to 6-5 on the year. LU was led by senior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) who scored a game-high 23 points, while adding a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and one block. Longwood will be back in action Thursday, January 5 when they play at Charleston Southern. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Marshall started the game off scoring the first six points; including four scored by Crystal Champion, but a three-pointer and a jumper by senior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) cut the Thundering Herd’s lead to one at the 15:30 mark.
Marshall again took the lead, pushing its advantage to five, 12-7, on a three-pointer by Jill Justice. Longwood fought back as Ashley Mason drained a three-pointer and hit a layup to tie the game at 12-12 with 11:07 remaining on the clock, but the Thundering Herd went on a 11-4 run over the next six minutes to take a seven-point edge at 23-16.
Marshall increased its lead to double-digits after Michele Hagan hit two free throws to give the Thundering Herd a 32-22 edge with 1:27 remaining before halftime. Two free throws by Ashley Mason, one made free throw by freshman center Anna Steg/Fairfax (George C. Marshall) and a layup by Steg made with time expiring cut Marshall’s halftime advantage to five at 32-27.
With the score 38-32 early in the second stanza, Longwood went on a 13-6 run to take its first lead of the contest at 45-44. Junior guard Abbey Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem) capped off the Lancers run draining a three-pointer with 13:15 remaining in the game.
Marshall regained the lead when Champion scored five-straight points to give the Thundering Herd the 49-45 edge. Longwood responded with a 13-6 spurt that gave the Lancers their largest lead of the game at 58-55 with 6:50 left in the contest. Mason scored nine of the points, while sophomore guard Keiva Small/Norfolk, Va. (Norview) added four points.
A three-pointer by Marshall’s Sikeetha Shepard-Hall tied the game and a jumper scored by Reshundra Smiley gave back the Thundering Herd the lead; one it would not relinquish. Marshall used a 12-3 run, including the three-pointer by Shepard-Hall and the jumper by Smiley, to gain a seven-point lead at 68-61.
With the score 71-61 with 1:48 left in the contest, Longwood made one last run at the Thundering Herd; using a 5-1 run to cut the lead to six with 51 ticks left on the clock. Sophomore forward Leigh Mascherin/Greensboro (Ragsdale) hit a jumper, while senior guard Jessica Wilkerson/Roanoke (Northside) drained a three-pointer to put a scare in Marshall. The Thundering would not buckle though as they scored the final four points to earn the 10-point victory.
Besides Ashley Mason, Longwood was led by Amber Mason and freshman guard Courtney Dyer/Richmond (Monacan) who scored nine and eight points, respectively. Amber Mason also added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Lancers finished the game shooting 38.5% (25-65) from the floor, including 30.8% (8-26) on three-pointers, and was 57.1% (8-14) at the charity stripe.
Marshall has five players finish with double-digit points, including Hagan who finished with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Shepard-Hall added a team-high 15 points, while Justice added 11 points. The Thundering Herd finished the game shooting 44.1% (26-59) from the floor, including 38.5% (5-13) on three-pointers, and was 76.0% (19-25) at the free throw line.
