Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women's basketball team pulled within one point late in the game before falling to Murray State University (1-3), 76-68, on Saturday afternoon at Willett Hall in Farmville. The Lancers (1-3) were led by freshman Daeisha Brown|Richmond, who posted a season-high 27 points and picked up her first career double-double in the outing. Senior Chelsea Coward|Mechanicsville tallied a career-high 17 rebounds in addition to 16 points en route to her second double-double of the season. Longwood begins an eight-game road trip at Coppin State University on Tuesday, November 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Murray State won the opening tip and jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead before Brown knocked down a layup to put the Lancers on the board with just under 18 minutes to play in the first half. Longwood made it a four-point game at 10-6 when senior Erin Neal|Durham, N.C. found Coward for the bucket, but the Racers responded by outscoring the Lancers, 9-3, to take a 19-9 advantage with less than 13 minutes left in the half. Brown hit a long three, sparking an 8-2 Lancer run that was capped by a three-point jumper from freshman Jaclyn Reagan|Crossville, Tenn. to cut the deficit to just three points, down 21-18, with 10:46 remaining in the period.

After trading baskets for several minutes, Longwood scored nine unanswered points, including the go-ahead bucket from freshman Khalilah Ali|Suffolk, to give the squad its only lead of the game, up 30-29 with 5:42 to go in the first. Murray State followed with a 14-1 run in the final minutes to take a 43-31 advantage in the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Lancers' offense went to work and quickly cut MSU's buffer to just 43-40. Longwood tied the game at 45-45 on a three-pointer from Coward with 17:17 still to go. While the Lancers did not regain the lead, the squad kept the game tight, down just 57-55 with 10 minutes remaining after a jumper from beyond the arc by senior Crystal Smith|Richmond. Longwood would make it an even tighter game at 62-61 on a layup from Coward with 6:05 left in the game before Murray State outscored LU, 14-7, in the waning minutes of the contest to seal the 76-68 victory.

Brown added a season-high 10 rebounds to her team-high 27 points for her first double-double. In addition to Brown and Coward, Smith also scored in double figures with 16 total points. Reagan notched her first career three-pointers for six points in the contest, while Ali recorded four points to round out the scorers for Longwood. As a team, the Lancers shot 37% (24-65) from the field, 29% (7-24) from three-point territory and 77% (13-17) from the foul line.

The Racers were paced by Mariah Robinson, who registered a game-high 28 points and 11 boards. Jessica Winfrey also tallied a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Murray State shot 34% (27-80) from the field, including 36% (5-14) from beyond the arc, and 68% (17-25) from the line.

Saturday's game marked just the second meeting ever between Longwood and Murray State in the sport of women's basketball. The Racers now hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series.