WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNCW guard GiGi Smith hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:36 to play in the final quarter to lead the Seahawks past the Longwood women's basketball team in a defensive 35-33 game Friday night inside Trask Coliseum.

Smith's corner three-pointer was the difference in a defensive struggle that saw Longwood hold a fourth quarter lead until the game's final two minutes. She led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting along with eight rebounds in a near double-double performance.

Longwood's first game holding an opponent under the 40-point mark since the 2015-16 season against Notre Dame (Md.), the Lancers (1-8) limited the Seahawks to a season-worst .254 (15-59) shooting performance and forced 21 UNCW turnovers.

The Seahawks (6-4) were able to overcome eight points from Stephanie Guhon and Kristina Antonenko while Mallory Odell secured a game-high 10 points to go with her five points.

"Looking at the first part of the season, we were giving up so many points in the early part and as a staff we took a hard look at that," said Longwood head coach Rebecca Tillett. "We've really emphasized defense in practice and we're starting to see the benefits of our work. In tonight's game, our women had an incredible effort defensively and did a nice job of staying engaged throughout."

UNCW's defense matched the Lancers, limiting Longwood to .278 (10-36) from the floor and forcing a season-high 31 turnovers.

Part of that defensive stronghold was limiting Seahawk leading scorer Shrita Parker to a season-low nine points, as she came into Friday's game averaging 19.1 points per game – the second most in the CAA this season.

"She's [Parker] such a fun player to watch on film and has had a really strong offensive career," Tillett said. "Our plan coming in was to try to take away some of the things that she typically does and guard her with more than one person. She's so difficult to guard one-on-one so we had to come up with multiple ways to guard her."

Up next, the Lancers will have eight days before returning to the court Dec. 29, 2018 against ACC foe Virginia Tech with a 2 p.m. opening tip. That game will mark Longwood's final con-conference game before opening Big South play at Winthrop.

"We have the chance to go home and spend time with our families for the holidays," Tillett said. "We need to come back energized. Our women haven't been coming to practice with an attitude reflective of our record. They've done a great job of staying engaged and staying the course. If they continue to do that, it excites me for the future."  

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