January 14, 2007

BOX SCORE

Farmville, Va.-- Behind Anna Steg’s/Fairfax (George C. Marshall) double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds, the Longwood women’s basketball team snapped a five game skid, beating Savannah State 55-40 at Willett Hall on Sunday afternoon.  The Lancers move to 6-14 on the season while Savannah State falls to 6-12 on the year.  Longwood will return to action on Wednesday, January 17, as it hosts Charleston Southern in a 7 p.m. match-up at Willett Hall.
    
Keiva Small/Norfolk (Norview) got things going on the offensive end for Longwood, laying in a shot for the 2-0 lead and hitting a jumper the next time down for the 4-2 Lancer lead.  Abbey Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem) extended the Longwood lead out of the first media timeout, hitting a shot from behind the arc to give the home squad a 7-2 lead with 15:24 on the clock.   The Tigers however, came right back and went on a 9-0 run the following 2:30 to grab their first lead of the game, 11-7, with 12:03 to go in the half.  Freese ended that run, hitting a huge three pointer to cut the deficit to one on Longwood’s next possession.
    
After the Tigers and Lancers exchanged baskets, Amber Sims/Lawrenceville (Brunswick Senior) took a pass from Ashleigh Hollman/Centreville (Westfield) and hit a jumper to give the Lancers the led for good, 14-13 with 10:12 to go before the break.  Hollman gave the Lancers some breathing room a short time later, hitting a three-pointer for the 17-13 lead.  Longwood’s defense was strong for the closing eight minutes of the half, as the Lancers outscored the Tigers 10-7 for a 27-20 halftime lead.  At the break Freese led the Lancers with nine points, all coming from three-point land, as the senior shot 3-4 (75%) from behind the arc in the opening half.  Steg was perfect from the field in the first twenty minutes, not taking a break and hitting all three of her shots while pulling down six rebounds.  Savannah State was led by Antoinette Williams who tallied six points.
    
The Tigers opened up scoring in the second half as Shmika Jones hit a three-pointer to bring the Savannah State within four early in the half.  The Tigers were able to cut the Lancer lead to three, but the hot shooting of Courtney Dyer/Richmond (Monacan) took, over as the Dyer hit back to back threes to give the Lancers their largest lead of the game nine with 14:52 to go in the half.  Savannah State’s Milan Johnson hit a pair of free throws and Ivy Smith hit the back end of a pair to bring the visiting Tigers back within six, but Dyer and Hollman teamed up for the third time in the half to build the Lancer’s lead back to nine with 11:44 to go in the game.  Hollman drove down the lane and kicked the ball out to Dyer who was sitting on the right side wide open and Dyer did the rest hitting her third of five threes in the game.  Dyer finished the game with 15 points.  Steg hit a lay-up with 7:18 remaining in the game to give the Lancers an 11 point lead and her first double-double of the season.  The Lancers’ defense took over from there, keeping the Savannah State offense at bay and holding leading scorer Smith to a season low five points.
    
“This was a great team effort and it was good to see us come in with the same energy and effort from the Radford game,” explained head coach Pamela Bass.  “Our defensive intensity was the difference maker in the game.  We did great on the boards and and rotated as an unit.  This was great mental win for us.”
    
Dyer and Steg proved to be the forces for the Lancers as the two finished the game in double-digit figures and hit key shots down throughout the contest in the win.
    
“Anna played hard for us today and hats off to her to grab her first double-double of the season,” stated Bass.  “Courtney came off the bench strong today and picked up where she left off in the last couple games.”
    
Freese and Hollman each finished the game with nine points as all of their point came from three-point land in the win while Sims tied her career best of nine rebounds in today’s contest.