November 18, 2008

Saint Francis (Pa.) Game Notes (pdf)

FARMVILLE, Va. - The Longwood University women's basketball team heads into tomorrow nights game after opening the season at the ISES Cancer Awareness Tip-Off hosted by Elon. The Lancers finished the tournament with a 1-1 record after falling to UNC Wilmington in the first game of the tournament 71-50. Longwood bounced back against host Elon, taking down the Phoenix 58-54 in overtime. Senor Anna Steg recorded her first double-double of the season against Elon, scoring 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
   
Saint Francis (Pa.) is coming off a 99-68 loss at Boston College in their season opener on November 14. The game got off to a rough start for both sides with both teams turning over the ball in the first 29 seconds of the game. Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) led the Red Flash in minutes with 32 and chipped in with 7 points, 4 rebounds and a steal. Freshman Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) had 10 points and a team-leading 3 assists in her first collegiate game, while Daly, back for her sophomore season, added 11 points and 2 steals.
   
This marks the second matchup between these two sides with saint Francis leading the series 1-0. The last time these two sides met was November 13, 2007 in which the Red Flash defeated the Lancers 65-55 in Loretto, Pa.

Coach Caruso on Saint Francis (Pa.): “We are looking forward to a competitive re-match from a game that was very close last season.  I am also excited  to be playing against a long time friend in Susan Robinson-Fruchtl.”

A Lancers Win Would:
• Make the Lancers 2-1 in the first three games of the season for the first time under head coach Kristin Caruso
• Be the Lancers first win in their home opener since their 67-55 victory over Norfolk State on November 17, 2006
• Mark the first time Longwood has defeated Saint Francis in the teams two meetings

A Lancer loss would
• Begin the Lancers season 1-2 for the first time since the 2001-02 season

The Last Time Out
• The Lancers last met Saint Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 13 of last season, with the Red Flash earning a 65-55 victory
• The last meeting between these two teams took place on Saint Francis' court
• Sophomore Cierra Baker recorded eight points and nine rebounds
•The Lancers had a better first half than the Red Flash, shooting 36.4% (12-33) from the field and 85.7% (6-7) from the free-throw stripe
• Longwood shot 23-70 from field goal range compared to Saint Francis' 23-55

Block Star
So far this season the Lancers have out blocked their opponents 7-4 ... Cierra Baker has been the star on the block, coming up with four of the Lancers seven blocks ... Three of Bakers blocks came in the Lancers 58-54 overtime victory over Elon on November 15, which is currently the most by any member of the team in a single game this season ... Baker also managed to come up three steals during the game to take her season total to five.

Bench Mark
The LU bench has averaged 20.5 points a game in its last two outings  ... the bench was nearly as productive as the starters in the teams win over Elon, scoring 27 points to the starters 31  … Amber Sims and Cierra Baker have provided most of the scoring punch from the bench.

From The Range
Longwood has been solid from field goal range shooting .408 (40-98) as a team ... they are also pretty good at defending the jumper ... The Lancers have allowed their opponents a .357 field goal range shooting percentage, while pulling down 52 defensive rebounds this season. 

Senior Connection
Anna Steg and Amber Sims have proven to be a good one-two scoring combination, accumulating 38 points combined, which makes up a quarter of the Lancers scoring ... Steg is currently ranked first on the team in total points with 22, while Sims is tied for third with 16 ... The duo have also racked up three assists a piece, while pulling down a combined 27 rebounds, which ranks them one and two on the team.

New Kids on the Block
The Lancers youth movement have been more than productive for the team this season with six of the teams seven freshmen seeing action ... The freshmen currently total 43 of the Lancers 108 points scored this season, which makes up 40% of the teams scoring ... Sierra Fletcher was the teams go-to-player in the teams season opener against UNC Wilmington, scoring 15 points and shooting 4-4 from the free-throw line, while also shooting .500 from field goal range (4-8) and behind the arc (3-6). Fletcher is currently ranked second on the team in scoring average, averaging 10.0 baskets a game.

Who's Hot
Senior Anna Steg recorded her first double-double of the season against Elon on November 15, after recording 15 points and 10 rebounds. Steg is averaging 11 points and eight rebounds a game. Sophomore Cierra Baker has been a strong defensive presence for the Lancers, collecting five steals and coming up with four blocks.

Who's Not
The Lancers have already turned the ball over 49 times this season, after playing just two games. The teams 49 turnovers is more than the number of turnovers committed in the first two games of last season (42).

Up next
The Lancers hit the road to take on Atlantic Sun Conference member Campbell on Saturday, November 22 at 1 p.m.