The Opening Tip
• Longwood returns home to Jerome Kersey Court for a Big South matchup against the Pirates of Hampton University. Saturday's game between the Lancers and Pirates will be a celebration of Black History Month at Willett Hall.
• The Lancers are in the middle of the four game stretch in which Longwood plays three of four Big South contests away from Willett Hall.
• Longwood and Hampton faced off once this season on Jan. 28th in Hampton, Virginia. The Pirates took control early and went on to defend home court against the Lancers, 73-55.
• The Big South Conference selected freshman
Kyla McMakin for her sixth Freshman of the Week honor after McMakin averaged 25.0 points per game the previous week, including a 36 point performance, the most points scored by any Lancer in the programs DI-era.
Last Time Out
• An
Akila Smith double-double, complemented by a 21 point performance from
Dayna Rouse could not hold off a late surging Gardner-Webb team that outscored the Lancers 21-14 in the final frame, including a three-pointer from Savannah Plentovich that put the Runnin' Bulldogs ahead with one second remaining on the clock, securing the victory for Gardner-Webb, 73-70.
• Longwood had four starters finish in double-figures as
Dayna Rouse paced the offense with 21 points, and
Akila Smith posted the first double-double of her career with eight of her 12 points and 12 rebounds.
• The freshmen duo of
Kyla McMakin with 17 points and
Anne-Hamilton LeRoy with 12 points joined Rouse and Smith, finishing in double-figures.
• Five blocks in the loss brought
Akila Smith's season total to 48 and within seven blocks of breaking the single-season block record at Longwood.
By The Numbers
• Longwood's offense continues to be one of the best in the Big South Conference. The Lancers lead the conference in field goal percentage converting on .410 percent of their shots, while ranking second in the league in scoring, averaging 66.6 points per game.
• The offense is not all the Lancers bring to the court, Longwood's defense is a shot-blocking force. The Lancers lead the Big South averaging 5.95 blocks per game, and for the sixth time in 12 seasons, Longwood has recorded 100+ blocks in a season.
• The Lancers are not a team you want to give opportunities at the free-throw line. Longwood is the second in Big South shooting .731 from the charity stripe, converting 326 of their 433 free throws on the season.
• The duo of All-Big South
Dayna Rouse and the frontrunner for Big South Freshman of the Year
Kyla McMakin are responsible for the offensive success the Lancers have experienced this season. McMakin has made an immediate impact in the Big South in her freshman campaign, ranking first in scoring at 17.8 points per game. Rouse averages 15.3 points per game and ranks fourth in the league. Longwood joins High Point as the only two programs in the Big South with two women in the top-five in league scoring.
• A five-tool player is rare, but Longwood has one in
Dayna Rouse. Rouse finds herself in the top10 in the Big South in scoring (15.3), rebounding (7.3), double-doubles (6) FG% (.533), blocks (2.1), steals (1.6), minutes (33.9).
• Junior
Tra'Dayja Smith has a knack for distributing the ball and finding the open Lancer. Smith leads the Big South and ranks eighth in Division I in assists, distributing an average of 6.4 assists per game.
• Blocks are a common theme for the Lancers' defense.
Akila Smith leads the team with 48 on the season, with senior
Dayna Rouse looking to regain the top spot with 47 blocks. Rouse's 47 blocks give her 118 career blocks, moving her into third all-time in the women's basketball record book.
• Playing as a freshman is hard to do, but making an immediate impact as a freshman is rare, having two freshmen making doing both is unheard of, but
Kyla McMakin and
Anne-Hamilton LeRoy are doing just that for the Lancers. McMakin and LeRoy are two of the four freshmen in the Big South, averaging double-digits for their respected programs. McMakin leads all freshmen in scoring, and LeRoy is the third-highest scoring freshmen in the Big South, averaging 11.0 points per. LeRoy ranks eleventh in Big South Conference games in field goal percentage converting on .390 percent of her shots taken in league play
Series History
• Longwood has yet to defeat the Pirates of Hampton University in three matchups in program history.
• Hampton defended home court 72-55 the last time the programs competed on January 28 in Hampton, Virginia.
•
Anne-Hamilton LeRoy led the Lancers in the previous meeting with 16 points for the Lancers.
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