February 13, 2007

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va.-- Longwood women’s basketball held off a second half rally from Winston-Salem State in Tuesday night’s 69-65 victory at Willett Hall on Senior Night. The Lancers (8-18) had five players in double-digit figures, led by Anna Steg’s/Fairfax (George C. Marshall) 13 points. The Rams (7-21) were led by Shalonda Carter’s double-double of 14 points and 14 boards. The Lancers will hit the road this weekend and travel to New Jersey to take on NJIT on Saturday, February 17, tip-off set for 2 p.m..

After a quick basket by Carter, Longwood came right back down the floor and answered back as Keiva Small/Norfolk (Norview) tallied the Lancers’ first two buckets of the game giving Longwood a 4-2 lead. Longwood continued the offensive and went on a 10-0 run capped off by a lay-up by Steg to give the home squad a 10-2 with 16:33 to go in the half.

Ashleigh Hollman/Centreville (Westfield) forced the Rams to take a full timeout with 12:38 to go in the half, after the guard knocked down a pass on the defensive end and took it down the floor sinking a pull-up jumper to swing the momentum the Lancers way. Courtney Dyer/Richmond (Monacan) tipped-in a Steg miss to cap another six-point Longwood run mid-way through the half, putting the score at 20-5.

After an eight-point run by the visitors, Dyer hit a timely three, to give the Lancers back a double-digit lead that Longwood would not relinquish heading into the break. Becky Fernandes/Fairfax (Bishop Ireton) was perfect from the foul line in the first half recording five of her nine points at the stripe to help Longwood head into halftime with a 37-25 lead.

The Lancers came right out of the halftime and continued to build on their 12 point lead as Abbey Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem) hit a three-pointer in the opening minutes of the half and Fernandes followed that up with a lay-up to give Longwood a 42-27 lead with 17:36 to go in the game. WSSU began to chip-away at the Lancers’ lead and brought the game within one after Kadina Baldwin hit a jumper with 10:17 remaining. Amber Sims/Lawrenceville (Brunswick Senior) answered right back on Longwood’s next possession to give the home squad a three-point lead. After strong foul shooting by Dyer and Steg, Longwood built a seven-point cushion and held off a late Rams’ run to grab the 69-65 win.

Small and Fernandes each finished with 11 points while Hollman and Dyer tallied ten points a piece in the win. As a team Longwood shot for 42.1% from the floor while WSSU shot for 34.3%.

“I am very pleased with the balance and effort on both sides of the court tonight,” stated head coach Pamela Bass. “Our team rose to the challenge and protected the lead to give our seniors the win. Tonight was a great way to see our growth as a team and show that we can hold a lead from start to end on a talented quick team like WSSU.”

Tonight’s contest marked the final home game for seniors Freese and Hollman. Both were honored in a small ceremony before tonight’s contest to highlight their commitment and dedication to Longwood basketball.