December 28, 2009

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. - The Longwood University women's basketball team dropped an 84-64 decision to Virginia Commonwealth University of the Colonial Athletic Association on Monday afternoon in Willett Hall on campus in Farmville. Chelsea Coward/Mechanicsville (Hanover) tied her career-high with 21 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. La'Tavia Rorie scored a game-high 25 points for the Rams. The Lancers return to action on Wednesday, December 30, when they travel to Boiling Springs, North Carolina, to take on Gardner-Webb University at 7 p.m..

VCU (6-5) jumped out to an 11-5 lead just four minutes into the game. Senior Becky Fernandes/Fort Belvoir (Bishop Ireton) cut the lead to 11-8 after converting a traditional three-point play. The Rams went on a 7-0 run over the next 2:30 to take an 18-8 lead with 13:12 remaining. Fernandes made another basket before Coward ran off seven-straight points for Longwood (4-10), cutting the VCU lead to 22-17 with 10:49 left in the half. VCU extended their lead to 19 at halftime behind Rorie's 21 first-half points. Coward had 12 points at halftime for Longwood. The Lancers shot 50.0% (11-22) from the floor in the first half while the Rams knocked down 51.5% (17-33) of their shots, including going 5-6 from behind the arc.

The Rams continued their strong play to start the second half, pushing the lead to 55-27 with 16:07 left in the game. The Lancers answered back and cut the lead to 20 at 73-53 with 5:26 left in the game. Each team scored 11 points the rest of the way to make the final 84-64.

Longwood shot 50.0% from the floor (23-46)?and from behind the arc (5-10) and converted on 76.5% (13-17) foul shots. Sophomore Brittanni Billups/Goldsboro, N.C. (Eastern Wayne) scored 17 points for Longwood on 6-for-10 shooting and went 5-for-7 from the foul line. Freshman Crystal Smith/Richmond?(Meadowbrook) added 11 points. Fernandes finished with five points and two steals.

Courtney Hurt added 17 points for the Rams while D'Andra Moss scored 13 points. Kita Waller added 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds. VCU shot 54.0% (34-63) from the floor and 62.5% (5-8) from behind the arc.