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LYNCHBURG, Va. – Behind a 20 point effort from Sonora Dengokl, including 16 in the second half, seventh-seeded UNC Asheville was able to escape a Longwood upset bid 65-59 Thursday night inside the Vines Center in first round action of the Big South Women's Basketball Championship.

Dengokl helped the reigning champion Bulldogs overcome a slow start offensively, leading an effort that saw Asheville 18 second-half points in the paint. Dengokl finished 9-of-12 from the floor, while adding five rebounds, an assist and three steals to push the Bulldogs into Friday's quarterfinal against No. 2 seed Campbell

Longwood held a lead for over 20 minutes of the game, but was unable to hold off the Bulldog second-half charge. In that second half, UNC Asheville's offense came to life with 45 points to spark a rally and avoid the upset.

???????Khaila Hall scored 11 of her career-best 21 points in the opening half, finishing 9-of-16 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. In addition, the freshman added five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 35 minutes of playing time.

Longwood (4-26) opened its largest lead of the night of six point late in the second quarter, backed by a 6-of-13 (.462) shooting effort throughout the period that saw the Lancers go 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and take a 24-20 lead into the break.

Asheville (16-14) came out of the locker room and grabbed the lead in the early portion of the third quarter and was able grow that lead to as many as eight points with five minutes remaining in the game. However, backed by a five-point scoring burst from Hall in the final minutes, Longwood drew within one with 39 seconds to play before Asheville hit a trio of free throws in the closing seconds to close out the win.

Honorable mention All-Big South selection KJ Weaver secured an 11 point, 13 rebound double-double, while Khaila Webb joined Dengokl and Weaver in double figures with 10 points. Longwood was able to frustrate first-team All-Big South selection Chatori Major, holding the 2015-16 Big South Player of the Year to just six points on 1-of-10 shooting.

With the loss, Longwood sees the career of its four seniors – Eboni Gilliam, Brenna Robbins, Treasure Avery and Emily Nylen – come to an end. Gilliam ends the season as Longwood's leading scorer, ranking among the top 15 in the Big South with 10.4 points per game, while Robbins closes her career with more than 100 career games played.

With a seven assist, nine point performance, Micaela Ellis moved among Longwood's top-five in single season assists with 133, joining Cassie Emsley and becomes Longwood's all-time leader in the Division I era in single season assists, dating back to the 2007-08 season.

Ellis finished with at least three assists in 23 of Longwood's 30 games on the season, and placed second in the Big South with 4.3 assists per game. The Longwood junior finished with six-plus assists in seven contests this season and 10-plus in two games.

With the conclusion of the season, Longwood will return four starters from the 2016-17 season for 2017-18, including Ellis. Longwood will welcome back eight of its nine leading scorers, including its top four three-point threats – Kate Spradlin, Autumn Childress, Dayna Rouse and Ashlee Jones.

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