January 12, 2010

BOX SCORE
                                                                                 
LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Longwood University women's basketball fell at Liberty University of the Big South Conference 78-55 in the Vines Center in Lynchburg. The Lancers (4-14) were led by sophomore Morgan Smith/Williamsport, Md. (Williamsport) with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds while senior Becky Fernandes/Fort Belvoir (Bishop Ireton) added 12 points, four assists and four steals. Liberty (10-4) had two players with a double-double in Devon Brown (16p, 13r) and Jelena Antic (19p, 10r). Longwood returns to action on Monday, December 18, when it travels to Orem, Utah, to take on Utah Valley University at 9:05 p.m.. The Lancers defeated Utah Valley 73-51 earlier this season in Farmville.

Liberty jumped out to an early 6-0 lead as Antic scored the first three baskets for the Flames. Freshman Chelsea Coward/Mechanicsville (Hanover) got the Lancers on the board with 17:54 remaining in the first half before Liberty went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 14-2 lead with 14:31 left in the opening period. The lead would swell to 20 at 28-8 with 7:55 remaining before Longwood started cutting into the deficit. The Lancers trimmed the lead to 11 at 31-20 with 4:19 remaining on a Morgan Smith three-pointer. Liberty went in to halftime with a 38-25 lead. The Flames scored 28 points in the paint in the first half and added six from the foul line, with only four points coming from outside the paint. Liberty out-rebounded Longwood 27-8 in the first half.

Both teams struggled to score in the second half, going almost three minutes without a field goal before junior Krystal Garrison/Fredericksburg (Courtland) nailed a three-pointer with 17:06 remaining to cut the lead to 38-28. That 10-point deficit would be as close as the Lancers would get as Liberty slowly pulled away. Longwood made only one shot from the field in the final seven minutes, a layup by sophomore Brittanni Billups/Goldsboro, N.C. (Eastern Wayne) with 25 seconds remaining. Liberty went on a 13-6 run during the drought to push the final score to 78-55.

The Lancers turned the ball over 24 times and turned 27 Liberty turnovers in to 24 points. Liberty out-rebounded Longwood 54-19 for the game and had a 54-18 advantage scoring in the paint. Seventy-one of the Flames 78 points came in the paint or at the foul line. Longwood shot 34.6% (18-52) from the floor, including 31.8% (7-22) from three, and 66.7% (12-18) from the foul line. Longwood had 26 points from the bench as Billups added nine on 3-4 shooting.

Avery Warley scored 12 points for Liberty and Kylee Beecher added 10. The Flames shot 49.2% (30-61) from the floor including 11.1% (1-9) from three, and 70.8% (17-24) from the foul line.