February 6, 2007

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va.-- Longwood women’s basketball dropped a hard fought 80-42 battle to #25 James Madison Tuesday evening at Willett Hall.  Keiva Small/Norfolk (Norview) led the Lancers (7-17) recording a game-high 17 points in 31 minutes of action.  JMU (20-2) who collected their twelfth consecutive win, was led by Meredith Alexis’ double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Longwood will travel to Georgia this weekend to take on Savannah State on Sunday, February 11, at 2 p.m..  The Lancers took a 55-40 win over the Tigers last month.
   
 Longwood took the opening tip-off and marched down the court to take the first lead of the game at 2-0, after Ashleigh Hollman/Centreville (Westfield) hit a jumper in the lane. With the scored tied at two after a jumper from  the Dukes’ Shirley McCall, Longwood cashed in on a JMU mistake to get back the two point lead.  Abbey Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem) batted away a pass at the foul line that Becky Fernandes/Fairfax (Bishop Ireton) picked up at mid-court and found Anna Steg/Fairfax (George C. Marshall) all alone for the easy lay-up with 16:38 to go in the first half.  That was the last lead of the game, for Longwood as JMU turned around and went on a 16-2 run during the next seven minutes to take a 19-6 lead with 9:40 remaining in the half.  
    
The Lancers were able to score on their next three possessions to bring the deficit back down to seven at the 6:24 mark.  Small started the six point run on a jumper followed by a strong drive by Hollman the next time on the offensive side.  After Small took a charge on the defensive side, Claire Blevins/Chantilly (Chantilly) capped the run on a put back to put the score at 12-19.  Led by Jasmin Lawrence’s eight points, JMU closed the half strong, outscoring the Lancers 16-4 in the final six minutes to grab a 35-16 lead going into halftime.  At the break Small led the home squad with six points while Lawrence’s eight points was the top mark on the Dukes.
    
JMU scored on its first possession of the have as Andrea Benvenuto found Alexis back door for the 37-16 lead.  After Small brought the Dukes’ lead back to 19, JMU poured on the pressure offensively and notched seven un answered points to force the Lancers to take a thirty second timeout.  

The Dukes continued to hit from all over the floor and built a thirty point lead with 13:53 to go in the game.  Small and the Lancers would not quit as the underdogs continued to attack the basket throughout the second half.
    
Small had assisted on three consecutive Longwood baskets, including a no look pass to Steg who hit a lay-up a drew a foul, and a back door pass to Amber Sims/Lawrenceville (Brunswick Senior) on back-to-back possessions mid-way through the half.  JMU’s offense proved to be too much for the Lancers as the visitors pulled away with the game later in the half to record the win.
    
Behind Small’s 17 was Sims who finished the game with nine points.  Longwood shot for 34.6% from the floor while James Madison hit 50% (29-58) of their shots in the contest.