FARMVILLE, Va. – Eastern Michigan freshman Jenna Annecchiarico led the way with 14 points and seven assists to spark a runaway second half that lifted the Eagles to a 64-45 win over Longwood Saturday afternoon at Willett Hall.
 
Anecchiarico was at the center of a second-half surge that helped the Eagles (6-2) overcome a strong defensive effort from the Lancers en route to their third straight win. Anecchiarico entered the game ranked No. 6 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio and took over after halftime, dishing five assists and committing just one turnover over her final 20 minutes of play.
 
That effort helped Eastern Michigan bounce back from a first-half effort in which they shot just 10-of-33 from the floor and 2-of-10 from three-point range against a physical Longwood defense that set a season-low for fewest points allowed in a first half.
 
However, Eastern Michigan came alive after halftime and asserted its reputation as one of the Mid-American Conference's top defensive teams, holding Longwood to just seven field goals in the second half. Despite a 41-39 rebounding advantage in favor of the Lancers and near double-doubles from Longwood forward Mallory Odell and Dayna Rouse, the Eagles outscored Longwood 38-21 after the break to run away to a double-digit win.
 
"For a couple quarters we really executed the gameplan," said Longwood's first-year head coach Rebecca Tillett. "As is obvious, we've been giving up a lot of points this year and we've been taking steps to limit that. I thought our team did a really good job in that, especially in the first half. In the third quarter, not as well, but it was a step in the right direction."
 
The third quarter swung the game in Eastern Michigan's favor for good, as the Eagles put together an 18-7 run to extend their two-point halftime lead to double figures. Longwood tied the game early in the period on a layup from Dayna Rouse, but Eastern Michigan responded with 10 unanswered points, including back-to-back three-pointers from Annecchiarico and Courtnie Lewis, to build a lead that never dropped below eight points the rest of the way.  
 
And while the Eagles woke up on the offensive end of the floor after halftime, they maintained their hold on the defensive end and held Longwood to a .291 (7-of-24) shooting clip over the final two quarters. Rouse had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting during that stretch, but Eastern Michigan held the rest of the Lancer lineup to just 13 points.
 
"Our schemes worked well in the first half, and I thought they did a good job adjusting to some of that in the second half," Tillett said. "Once they got that comfortable led of about 11, we had to take some risks to try and get back in it. Those risks, obviously Eastern Michigan capitalized on them. But we're the kind of team and staff that likes to fight, so we're going to try and win, not try and keep the game close. Eastern Michigan did a great job capitalizing as we got more aggressive."
 
Along with Annecchiarico's 14 points, Corrione Cardwell scored 15, Enabulele scored 11 and Courtnie Lewis added 10.
 
Odell finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, and Rouse hit team highs with 17 points and nine rebounds. Antonenko also added nine rebounds as that Longwood post trio combined for 26 of Longwood's season-high 41 boards.
 
"I was really pleased with the post play of Dayna, Mallory and Kristina today," Tillett said. "They worked hard to follow the gameplan. They had 26 rebounds between them, so they did a really good job. The other players bought in too, they were scrappy, they got after it. That will be critical for our team going forward considering the size disadvantage we run into."
 
Point guard Stephanie Guihon also added seven points and five assists off the bench for the Lancers.
 
Longwood will now prepare for a daunting five-game road trip that begins next Wednesday, Dec. 19, with a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. where the Lancers will face East Carolina. Longwood will then head up the coast to face UNC Wilmington on Dec. 21 before taking a short break for the holidays and returning to the Commonwealth for a matchup at Virginia Tech on Dec. 29.
 
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