January 5, 2008

BOX SCORE

BRONX, N.Y. -- Longwood University took a 62-56 women's basketball road win at Fordham University Saturday afternoon at the Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, New York.  Senior Keiva Small/Norfolk (Norview) led the Lancers (8-9) with a career-high double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Annie Zopf led the winless Rams (0-15) with 19 points.  Longwood will play again on Wednesday, January 9, hosting Winthrop University at Willett Hall in Farmville beginning at 7 p.m..

Longwood led early against Fordham of the Atlantic 10 Conference, taking a 6-2 advantage at 17:07 of the first half after a pair of layups from junior Anna Steg/Vienna (George C. Marshall).  Steg made another basket inside with 15:03 left in the first half to pull the Lancers within 11-10 before the Rams used an 11-0 run to lead 22-10 at 8:58.  Fordham continued with its first-half momentum, extending the run to 21-4, to lead 32-14 with 2:33 remaining until the break.  The Lancers, however, closed the half with an 8-3 run to pull to within 35-22 at the intermission as Small made consecutive three-point field goals and Steg made two late free throws.

Longwood continued its own momentum in the second half while extending the run to 28-7 over the two halves while taking a 42-39 lead at 10:58 on another Steg layup.  Small sparked the surge with 14 points during the first 7:13 of the second half, and scored 20 of the 28 points during the run for the Lancers who recovered from the 18-point first-half deficit.  The contest remained tight down the stretch, though Longwood maintained a lead over the final 8:31 and secured the road victory with 5-10 free throws over the final 1:59.

Small finished with a career-high 26 points (10-24 FG, 5-7 3FG, 1-2 FT), including a career-best five three-point field goals, adding a career-high 10 rebounds for her second career double-double to lead Longwood.  Steg added her own double-double with season-highs of 16 points and 15 rebounds along with two blocks.  Junior Courtney Dyer/ Richmond (Monacan) had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists for the Lancers.  LU shot 33% (21-64) from the field, including 32% (6-19) on three-point field goals, and 52% (14-27) at the line.

Zopf finished with 19 points to lead Fordham, while Megan Mahoney had 23 points for the Rams.  Fordham shot 33% (19-57) from the field, including 20% (3-15) on three-pointers, and 83% (15-18) at the free throw line.

It was the first-ever meeting between Longwood and Fordham in women’s basketball.