1.25.2012

Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. - The Longwood University women's basketball team fell 80-62 at Eastern Kentucky University of the Ohio Valley Conference on Wednesday evening in Richmond, Kentucky. The Lancers (5-19) were led by junior Crystal Smith|Richmond (Meadowbrook) with 18 points, while senior Brittanni Billups|Goldsboro, N.C. (Eastern Wayne) added 17 points and seven rebounds. The Colonels (10-9) were paced by Jade Barber with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Longwood returns to action on Monday, February 6, when it faces Savannah State University of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at 7 p.m. in Savannah, Georgia.

The Lancers trailed 20-7 at the second media timeout with 11:30 remaining in the first half. Longwood cut the lead to nine (29-20) after four-straight points by Billups with 5:53 remaining, but the hosts extended the lead to 43-26 at halftime. The Colonels pushed the lead to 26 (56-30) with 17:10 remaining, but the Lancers slowly chipped away at the lead and trailed 64-41 with 11:26 left in the game. Longwood went on a 19-10 run to cut the lead to 74-60 with 4:22 remaining. Junior Heather Tobeck|La Porte, Texas (La Porte) hit a pair of three-pointers to start the run, and classmate Mieke Elkington|Hamilton, New Zealand (Cochise College) also added two three-pointers during the span. Crystal Smith capped the run with a three-pointer as the Lancers went 5-for-7 from behind the arc during the run. That was close as Longwood would get, as EKU won 80-62.

Crystal Smith paced the Lancers with 18 points (5-21 FG, 1-8 3FG, 7-11 FT) and added five assists and three steals. Billups added 17 points (7-14 FG, 3-4 FT), seven rebounds and four steals, while Tobeck scored 12 points (4-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT). Longwood shot 32.4% (22-68) from the floor, including 29.4% (5-17) from behind the arc, and 61.9% (13-21) from the foul line. The Lancers dished out 13 assists and added 16 steals. Longwood scored 17 points off of 27 EKU turnovers.

Barber scored a game-high 19 points (8-12 FG, 3-5 FT) with 17 rebounds. Marie Carpenter added 18 points (6-8 FG, 5-6 FT) and six rebounds, while Brittany Coles scored 12 points (5-7 FG, 1-2 3FG, 1-1 FT). The Colonels shot 53.3% (32-60) from the floor, including 28.6% (4-14) from behind the arc, and 63.2% (12-19) from the foul line. EKU had 19 assists and six steals and turned 15 Longwood turnovers in to 15 points.