February 2, 2005
BOX SCORE
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Longwood University women’s basketball team dropped a hard fought 55-43 decision to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday afternoon in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Lancers, who fell to 10-11 on the season, were led by junior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) with her second-straight double-double performance. She finished with game-highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds. Terra Andrews who scored 14 points and seven rebounds led the Islanders, who improved to 15-4 on the season. LU will close out its two-game swing through Texas with a contest against Texas-Pan American Monday, February 7. Game time is slated for 8:00 p.m.
With Texas A&M-Corpus Christi up 4-2 at the 18:32 mark, Longwood went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead by four with 13:58 to play in the first stanza. Ashley Mason started off LU’s surge hitting a layup, followed by a bucket by senior forward/center Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian). Junior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and Ashley Mason closed out the run with back-to-back buckets.
The Islanders tied the game at 16-16 on a three-pointer by Monica Pena and then Nicole Duncan hit a jumper to give TAMCC the two-point advantage with less than five minutes to play in the first stanza. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pushed its lead to 22-17, but Amber Mason sank two free throws with 15 ticks left on the clock to slash LU’s halftime deficit to 22-19.
The game stayed tight in the early moments of the second half. Junior guard Jessica Wilkerson/Roanoke (Northside) hit a three-pointer to give the Lancers a 29-27 lead, but the Islanders went on a 21-10 run over the next six minutes to hold a nine-point cushion, 48-39. Longwood was able to cut the score to 50-43 on a jumper by Meldere, but it wasn’t enough as TAMCC widened its lead to double-digits and earned the 12-point victory.
Besides Mason, whose 15 rebounds was a career-high, the Lancers were also led by Amber Mason who scored 13 points, had four rebounds, and made a five steals. LU finished the game shooting 34.0% (16-47) from the field, including 13.3% (2-15) on three-pointers, and sank 81.8% (9-11) of its free throws.
The Islanders also got help from Jackie Ododa and Duncan. Ododa finished with 13 points and six boards, while Duncan added 11 points and five assists. TAMCC finished the game shooting 38.2% (21-55) from the field, including 31.6% (6-19) on three-pointers, and was 53.8% (7-13) from the charity stripe.
