Box Score

CONWAY, S.C. – The No. 7 Longwood University women's basketball team used a 19-0 run late in the second half to surge ahead and earn a 79-67 quarterfinal victory in the 2013 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Women's Basketball Championship against No. 2 Winthrop University (20-11) on Friday afternoon at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. Longwood (13-18) was paced by four double-digit scorers in the thrilling battle, including senior Crystal Smith/Richmond with a team-best 18 points. Classmate Chelsea Coward/Mechanicsville added 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, tallying her 11th double-double of the season. The Lancers will play a semifinal game tomorrow, Saturday, March 9, marking the first time the No. 7 seed has advanced through the quarterfinals since 2011. Longwood will take on in-state foe Radford University beginning 6 p.m. on ESPN3.

“This was the epitome of a team win,” said head coach Bill Reinson. “There probably should be four or five players sitting here beside me. It was a great team effort. Winthrop is a talented team, and they do so many things well. Coach Cook does a great job with that program. What helped us was the fact that we got them back in January, and that gave us confidence.”

Longwood opened the game with a deep three from the corner from Smith, but Winthrop retaliated with seven straight points to take an early advantage. The Lancers pulled within two thanks to a jumper from freshman Daeisha Brown/Richmond, but WU would hit a pair of layups and a three before Longwood would score again on a bucket from the paint by freshman Khalilah Ali/Suffolk, making it a 14-7 contest with 13:41 remaining in the first half. The squads traded buckets before Longwood hit eight-straight points, including back-to-back threes from seniors Erin Neal/Durham, N.C. and Mieke Elkington/Hamilton, New Zealand, to cut the deficit to just one at 18-17 with 10:27 still to go in the period. Winthrop followed with five consecutive buckets, taking its largest lead of the contest, up 29-17, at 6:23.

With just over four minutes to go, Coward drained a jumper from beyond the arc, sparking a flurry of threes for Longwood, as Smith and freshman Raven Williams/Richmond would follow with one apiece and Coward would hit another, to cut the deficit to just one at 33-32 with 1:37 left in the first. The Eagles responded with the last five points of the half, taking a slim, 38-32 advantage into the break.

The Lancers were aggressive coming out of halftime and threatened once again to take the lead after scoring 10 of the first 15 points of the second half, making it a 43-42 WU lead with 15:32 still to go. The Eagles would not relinquish their advantage just yet, as the home squad quickly regained a six-point edge at 50-44 with just over 14 minutes left in the contest. The Lancers continued to attack, but Winthrop maintained at least a one-possession margin, which included its largest lead of the half at 58-50 with more than 10 minutes remaining. Longwood would not back down, however, pulling within four at 62-58 before Smith converted on her first free throw and missed the second, but chased down the rebound to lay in the bucket. The three-point play from the senior standout ignited a 19-0 Lancer run that spanned almost seven minutes, giving the squad its first lead since the opening basket at 77-62 with less than 30 seconds to play. Winthrop tallied five points in the final seconds, but Longwood held on to take the 79-67, come-from-behind victory.

In addition to her 18 points, Smith pulled down six rebounds and added six assists, as well. Williams (13 points) and Ali (7 points) combined for 20 points off the bench for Longwood. Those bench points proved to be pivotal in the victory, outscoring the Winthrop bench, 20-0, despite going only seven deep, compared to nine for the higher seed. Williams also logged a personal-best six assists. Brown rounded out the double-digit scorers for LU with 10 points. The Lancers' 12 three-point field goals, which marked a new season high, tied the program's single-game record (since 2002-03) and was just two away from tying the Big South Tournament record, as well. As a team, the Lancers shot 40% (24-60) from the floor, including 46% (12-26) from beyond the arc, and 61% (19-31) from the line.

Winthrop was paced by Dequesha McClanahan with a game-high 23 points. Aliyah Kilpatrick added 20 points in the outing, as well. As a whole, the Eagles shot 37% (27-73) from the field, 28% (5-18) from three-point territory and 62% (8-13) from the foul line.

Friday's contest marked the 10th meeting ever between Longwood and Winthrop in the sport of women's basketball. The Eagles still hold a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series.