January 10, 2006
BOX SCOREFARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University earned a 77-71 women’s basketball victory over visiting Big South Conference member UNC Asheville this evening at Willett Hall in Farmville. The win improves the Lancers overall record to 5-11, while the Bulldogs dropped to 9-4 on the season. Longwood was led by senior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) who scored 20 points, dished out seven assists; both game-highs, and added nine rebounds. Longwood will be back in action this Saturday, January 14 when they host IPFW. Game time is slated for 4:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs, who scored the first bucket of the game on a jumper by Kristal Hood, controlled the first eight minutes of the contest. After the Lancers tied the game at 2-2 on a layup made by freshman center Anna Steg/Fairfax (George C. Marshall), UNC Asheville used a 9-4 spurt to gain a five point lead at 11-6 with 14:27 remaining in the first stanza. Longwood cut the lead to two after a three-pointer by junior guard Abigail Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem), but a layup by Stacy Shepard gave the Bulldogs a 13-9 advantage. LU responded with a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 15-13, at the 11:50 mark. Senior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) gave the Lancers the lead with her first bucket of the half.
Neither team was able to pull ahead by more than three points over the next six minutes, as the game had five different lead changes and four tied scores. But with UNC Asheville holding a slight 23-22 lead, Longwood finally took control of the half as they went on a 14-4 run and built a 36-27 edge with 3:04 left in the first half. The Lancers held onto the lead and went into the locker room with a seven-point lead at 42-35.
The Bulldogs chipped away at the Lancers lead early in the second half, slicing the score to 46-43 after a layup by Shepard at the 14:08 mark. Longwood pushed its lead back to eight 51-43, but a 16-4 run by UNCA gave the Bulldogs their first lead since mid-way through the first half. Wudi Alford capped off the run with a layup at the 7:41 mark.
Longwood, who tied the game at 63-63 after a layup by Ashley Mason, recaptured the lead for good after senior guard Jessica Wilkerson/Roanoke (Northside) hit a jumper with less than four minutes to play in the game. The Bulldogs were able to get LU’s lead down to one, two different times, over the final three-minutes, but Longwood sank 10-of-14 free throws down the stretch to secure the six-point victory.
Besides Ashley Mason, the Lancers were led by Freese and Amber Mason, who scored 11 and nine points, respectively. Amber Mason added nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Freese grabbed two rebounds and made two steals. Longwood finished the game shooting 44.1% (25-59) from the field, including 27.3% (3-11) on three-pointers, and was 64.7% (22-34) from the charity stripe.
UNC Asheville was led by Hood and Amanda Elder, who scored 20 and 18 points, respectively. The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 43.9% (25-57) from the field, including 11.1% (1-9) on three-pointers, and 74.1% (20-27) at the free throw line.
