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FARMVILLE, Va. – Redshirt-freshman sharp-shooter Kate Spradlin poured in a career-high 22 points with a 6-of-9 shooting clinic from beyond the arc and was one of four different Lancers to finish in double figures en route to leading Longwood to an 88-77 win over Delaware State Wednesday night inside Willett Hall.

A walk-on from Blue Ridge, Va., Spradlin finished in double figures for the first time in her career, making six of her nine three-point attempts and hitting eight of her 11 shots total. Spradlin splashed four consecutive three-pointers throughout the fourth quarter, helping the Lancers extend its lead to double figures. The career-best performance for Spradlin comes on the heels of a nine-point outing earlier this season at Charlotte.  

"That was a lot of fun," Spradlin said of her performance. "It was fun to help my team win. Once I made a couple of shots in the second half, I gained a lot of confidence. It feels good that hard work is paying off."

Spradlin's shooting clinic marks the top performance by a Lancer inside Willett Hall this season, as she becomes the third player on the squad to tally at least 20 points. Her effort follows Kemari Jones' 24 points at UMass Lowell and a 23-point outing from Dayna Rouse at Marshall. In addition, Spradlin becomes the first Lancer to make at least six three-pointers in a game since Chelsea Coward accomplished the feat against NC State during the 2012 season.  

"Kate's been working hard and it's great to see that her hard work in the gym is paying off," Gilliam said.  

Spradlin paced a Longwood offense that shot an efficient .534 (31-of-58) from the floor, marking the first time since Nov. 24, 2014 that the Lancers finished above the .500 mark. One game after making just one trey at Marshall prior to the holiday break, Longwood made 11 triples with four different players – Spradlin, Micaela Ellis, Khaila Hall and Ashlee Jones – each making at least one.

"It was the first time this season where we settled in offensively," said Longwood head coach Bill Reinson. "We had quite a few contributors, but none more impressive than Kate Spradlin. We talked about the need for someone to step up and make some three's. Kate certainly did that tonight. She shot the ball with confidence and did a terrific job defending 94 feet away from the basket."

Joining Spradlin in double figures were Ellis, Hall and Eboni Gilliam. Hall poured in a career-high 15 points on four field goals and knocked down five of her six free throws. In addition, Hall added four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 25 minutes of action. It marked the fourth game this season the Cleveland, N.C., finished with at least three assists.

Meanwhile, Ellis scored a season-best 11 points and dished out a team six assists, matching her career-best and spearheading a Longwood offense that had a season-high 21 assists on 31 made field goals throughout the game.  With her 11 points and six assists leading to 16 Longwood points, Ellis contributed 27 points in the contest.

A product of Richmond, Va., Gilliam finished in double figures for the fifth time in the last seven games, as she finished Wednesday's game with 18 points and eight rebounds, coming two rebounds short of her third double-double of the season.

"I just came out and tried to focus on leading my team today," Gilliam said. "We fought hard as a group and really shared the ball well. It feels good to come out with a win."
Longwood's four double-digit scorers were able to outduel the Hornets' two lone players with double figures, NaJai Pollard and Mikah Aldridge.

A Richmond, Va., native, Pollard put on a show for friends and family in attendance, pouring in 32 points and pulling down 11 rebounds for her 15th career double-double while playing all 40 minutes. In addition, Aldridge added 18 points, shooting seven-of-19 from the floor.

"We need to tighten up defensively," Reinson said. "It's still a work in progress, but I think the mistakes we made tonight are correctable."

The Lancers return home for their last contest of the 2016 calendar season, taking on Division-III Milligan College. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Willett Hall.

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