Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women's basketball team used a 16-6 run to pull within one point at 73-72 before falling to Big South Conference opponent Presbyterian College (19-10, 14-4), 76-72, on Senior Day in Willett Hall Saturday afternoon. Longwood (11-18, 8-10) honored Chelsea Coward/Mechanicsville, Mieke Elkington/Hamilton, New Zealand, Erin Neal/Durham, North Carolina and Crystal Smith/Richmond in a special pre-game ceremony. Smith also received a commemorative ball for surpassing 1,000 career points on February 7. The squad was paced by Coward with 24 points in the outing, while Neal and Smith added 18 apiece. The Lancers will take on Charleston Southern University in a first-round game at the 2013 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Championship on March 5 in Conway, South Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. 

Presbyterian scored the first five points of the day, but Longwood quickly made it a one-point game with a pair of free throws from Coward and a layup from Neal. The Lancers took their first lead at 9-8 with a deep three from Neal and free throws from Smith with 16:20 still to go in the first half. LU took the lead once more in the period, at 11-10, but the Blue Hose followed with a 20-7 run to pull ahead, 30-18, with just over seven minutes remaining in the half. Longwood answered with seven-straight points, thanks to layups from Neal and Coward and a three-pointer from Smith, to cut the deficit to just five, but PC scored the last nine points of the half to take a 39-25 advantage into halftime.

Longwood got a jumper from Smith to open the second half before Presbyterian extended its lead to 16 with layups on consecutive possessions. The Lancers were sparked by a jumper from beyond the arc by Neal to outscore the Blue Hose, 10-3, and make it a 46-37 contest at 13:33 in the second, but PC responded with a 19-11 run to take its largest lead of the day, up 65-48, with less than 10 minutes remaining. Longwood would not go quietly, however, scoring a pair of threes from Smith and Elkington, and a layup from Coward, to come within nine once again at 65-56 with 7:33 to go. The Blue Hose notched a layup, but the Lancers put together a 16-6 run, capped by a deep three from freshman Raven Williams/Richmond just before the shot clock expired to put Longwood within striking distance, down just 73-72 with seven seconds to play. The Lancers fouled PC to stop the clock and Karlee Taylor hit both free throws to make it a two possession game. With less than two seconds remaining, the Longwood bench was called for a technical foul, putting Taylor at the line once more to seal the 76-72 victory. 

In addition to her 24 points, Coward tied a career high with four steals in the outing. Neal's 18 points were good for a new season-high mark. Elkington added five points, as well. As a team, the Lancers shot 39% (24-61) from the floor, including 38% (8-21) from beyond the arc, and 76% (16-21) from the line.

Presbyterian was paced by three double-digit scorers, including Taylor with a team-best 22 points. Mariah Pietrowski added 19 points and Dria David totaled 14. As a whole, the Blue Hose shot 56% (29-52) from the field, 67% (8-12) from three-point territory and 53% (10-19) from the foul line.

Saturday's contest marked the sixth meeting ever between Longwood and Presbyterian in the sport of women's basketball. The Lancers still hold a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series.