Box Score

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Longwood University women's basketball team dropped a 62-50 decision at Arizona State University (7-4) of the Pacific 12 Conference in the squad's final non-conference contest of the season on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona. Freshman Daeisha Brown|Richmond led the Lancers (3-8) with a game-high 20 points, while senior Chelsea Coward|Mechanicsville added to the offensive effort with 16 points. Longwood returns to action after the holiday break with its first-ever Big South Conference matchup at Radford University on December 29 beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The Sun Devils won the opening tip and used an 11-2 run to take an early advantage. Coward knocked down a layup for the Lancers before Arizona State scored 10 unanswered points to make it 21-4 with 7:57 left to play in the first half. Brown completed a three-point play to break the silence for LU. The Lancers would score seven more to cut the deficit to 12, down just 26-14, but ASU tallied the final seven points of the half to head into the break with a 33-14 lead.

The teams traded baskets in the early minutes of the second half until Haley Videckis hit a layup to spark a 9-3 run for ASU, making it 46-22 with 12:38 remaining in the game. Coward hit a jumper from the paint for the Lancers, but the Sun Devils scored six unanswered points to take their largest lead of the match at 52-24 with just over nine minutes left to play. The Lancers would not go silently, as Brown, Coward and freshman Raven Williams|Richmond combined to outscore Arizona State, 14-3, pulling LU within 17 at 55-38 with 4:44 still to play. The Sun Devils regained a 20-point buffer before Longwood mounted a 12-4 run in the final minutes of the game, but it was not enough to overcome the margin, as ASU would earn the 60-52 victory. 

Brown added five rebounds to her game-high 20 points. Coward and senior Mieke Elkington|Hamilton, New Zealand also tallied five boards in the outing. Coward posted 14 of her 16 points in the second half. Elkington totaled six points on the day, while Williams notched five. As a team, Longwood shot 30% (18-60) from the field, eight percent (1-12) from three-point territory and 59% (13-22) from the foul line.

Three Sun Devils scored in double-figures. Janae Fulcher paced the team with 15 points, while Micaela Pickens and Promise Amukamara added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Joy Burke notched a game-high 12 rebounds. As a whole, the Sun Devils shot 36% (24-66) from the floor, including nine percent (1-11) from beyond the arc, and 65% (13-20) from the line.

Saturday's contest marked the first meeting ever between Longwood and Arizona State in the sport of women's basketball.