February 26, 2005
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University earned a 97-53 women’s college basketball victory over visiting Southern Virginia to close out its 2004-05 campaign. The Lancers had three players finish with double-digit points, including senior forward/center Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) who finished with her 13th double-double of the season; scoring 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Lynette Adams led the visiting Knights with her team-high 24 points. LU concluded the second year of its four year reclassification period to Division I with a 15-13 overall record.
Longwood built a 10-6 lead at the 15:24 mark. Meldere scored six of the points, while junior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and senior forward/center Catherine Dunn/Aberdeen, N.J. (St. John Vianney) both scored a bucket. The Lancers kept Southern Virginia scoreless for the next eight minutes while they scored 21 straight points to take a commanding 31-6 lead with less than seven minutes to play in the half. Adams kept the Knights in the game sinking three three-pointers in the first half, including her third at the 1:58 mark to cut the score to 43-21. Meldere closed out the half scoring a layup with four seconds left on the clock to give Longwood a 45-23 halftime lead.
The Lancers continued to pull away from the Knights, building a 34-point lead at the 11:11 mark of the second half on a three-pointer by freshman forward Leigh Mascherin/Greensboro, N.C. (Ragsdale). Southern Virginia got the lead down to 29 when Adams sank her sixth three-pointer of the game, but Longwood would not let them get any closer as it scored nine-straight points to hold a 85-47 cushion with 3:22 left in the contest. Sophomore forward Rebecca Charles/South Charleston, W.Va. (South Charleston) closed out the game scoring back-to-back layups to give the Lancers the 44-point victory.
Besides Meldere, who added four steals, one block and one assist, the Lancers also got a helping hand from Amber Mason and junior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne). Amber Mason chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block, while Ashley Mason finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Longwood shot 48.7% (41-84) from the field, including 31.6% (6-19) on three-pointers, and was 64.3% (9-14) from the charity stripe.
Also leading the way for the Knights was Leslie Keliipaakaua who scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out one assist and had one steal. Southern Virginia shot 31.5 (17-54) from the field, including 26.9% (7-26) from behind the three-point arc, and hit 70.6% (12-17) of its free throws.
Meldere finished her four-year career as a Lancer totaling 1,552 points, 1,240 rebounds, 106 assists, 93 blocked shots and 215 steals. She played in 108 games and finished with double-digit points in 81 games, double-digit rebounds in 68 games and has a total of 58 double-doubles to her credit. Dunn closed out her two-year career with Longwood accumulating 374 points, 257 rebounds, 88 assists, 37 steals and 10 blocked shots.
