FARMVILLE, Va. – A career-high 21 points from sophomore
Mallory Odell led four Lancers in double figures as the Longwood women's basketball team led from start-to-finish en route to a convincing 80-58 win over USC Upstate Tuesday night inside Willett Hall.
Odell paced four Lancers –
Dayna Rouse (15),
Stephanie Guihon (14) and
Kate Spradlin (12) – in double figures with her 21 points, 13 rebounds, as Longwood shot a scorching .508 from the floor and .467 from three-point range. The win handed the Lancers their third conference win of more than 15 points since the 2012-13 season.
"We were locked in defensively and after we hit a couple shots early our confidence really grew," said Longwood first-year head coach
Rebecca Tillett. "It was a great effort, especially by Mallory [Odell] and Kate [Spradlin], who were both ready to go from the beginning."
Spradlin hit three of her game-high four three-pointers in the opening quarter and secured her third straight game in double figures to help Longwood open a 21-7 advantage, as the Lancers (3-19, 2-10 Big South) defense buckled down to hold the Spartans (6-17, 2-10 Big South) scoreless in the opening 6:02 of the game to take a 16-0 lead.
"We knew coming in that we would have to be aggressive against them, having a close game at their place," Guihon said. "We knew the start of the game would be very important for us and we were able to get an early lead and continue to build from there."
Odell scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to collect her first 20-point game as a Lancer, collecting her fourth double-double of the season and second in the last three games. In those three games, the Richmond, Va., product has averaged 10.7 points along with 8.7 rebounds.
"My first few points came by crashing the boards and getting a couple offensive putbacks, exactly what coach Tillett challenged me to do coming in," Odell said. "Our team did a really nice job sharing the ball today, so it was a good team effort all around."
The performance from Odell surpasses her previous career-high 17 points earlier this season at Winthrop, as the sophomore joins Rouse, Guihon and
Ciarah Bennett as the fourth different Lancer to score 20-plus points in a game this season.
Big South leading scorer Brianna Lewis paced the Spartans with 17 points on 7-of-25 shooting while DeNIsha Swain joined her in double figures with 12 points.
For the game, the Longwood defense limited USC Upstate's high-scoring trio of Lewis, Swain and Riley Popplewell to 36 of USC Upstate's 58 points as the trio came into Tuesday's game each averaging in double figures and shooting above the .400 mark. Spurred by a season-high nine blocks, including a game-high five from Rouse, the Lancers held the Spartans to .306 shooting from the floor and 6-of-22 (.227) from beyond the arc.
Rouse, who came into Tuesday's game ranked ninth in the NCAA in field-goal percentage, continued her scoring surge with her 15th game of the season in double figures and fourth consecutive game in double figures, scoring 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Rouse's emergence has seen her elevate herself into the top six in the Big South with 14.2 points per game, as the Pittsburgh, Pa. product is third in conference play with her 15.8 points per game along with six games with 15-plus points.
Meanwhile, Guihon stuffed the stat sheet with her 13th game in double figures, scoring 14 points while collecting seven rebounds and adding six assists and three steals in 33 minutes on the floor.
Guihon's six assists were part of a Longwood offensive effort that saw the Lancers combine for 18 assists with Guihon and Bennett combining for 11 of those 18 assists.
Longwood returns to the road Saturday, Feb. 16, as the Lancers face Radford inside the Dedmon Center with the opening tip set for 2 p.m.
"When we look back on our first game against Radford, we had trouble scoring the basketball," Tillett said. "They're a great defensive team and we have to find a way to successfully find high percentage shots."
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