FARMVILLE, Va. — Despite three Lancers in double-figures, a late surge in the final minute by the Eagles offense led by Myra Strickland's 17 points lifted Winthrop past Longwood 63-60 inside of Willett Hall. 

Longwood (10-16, 6-11 Big South) led by the Big South leading scorer, Kyla McMakin, finished with 17 points, 15 of which came by the three-point shot, as McMakin finished with a game-best five treys in the loss. All-Big South senior Dayna Rouse and freshman Anne-Hamilton LeRoy finished with 14 points apiece, joining McMakin as the three Lancers in double-figures. Rouse fell one rebound shy of her seventh double-double with nine rebounds. 

"A lot of our recent games have come down to rebounding," said senior Dayna Rouse. "That is something we have been working on in practice, and it is a tough lesson to learn repeatedly, but it is where our focus will be the next few weeks. We led most of the game, so it is tough when Winthrop closes it out in the final two minutes". 

"We need to work on boxing out and not allowing opponents to get offensive rebounds," Rouse added. "Our help defense struggled today, and they were able to penetrate our defenses and get easy layups, so that is something we will work on in practice."

Winthrop (11-15, 8-9 Big South) leaned on Myra Strickland off the bench for the Eagles offense with a team-high 17 points, paired with three other Eagles in double-figures was too much for Longwood to contain. Strickland paced the Eagles offense after halftime scoring a game-high 11 points after the break on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor, including the three-pointer with under a minute to play that evened the score at 60-60. 

Kem Nwabudu gathered two consecutive offensive rebounds before laying in the game-winner with nine seconds on the clock to give the Eagles a two-point advantage over the Lancers. After an empty possession, Longwood sent Miquela Santoro to the line with six seconds on the clock. Santoro converted on 1-of-2 free throws to put the Eagles ahead three-points, securing the game for the Eagles, 63-60. 

"I thought down the stretch we could not get rebounds, and we allowed too many layups, which we did a good job of defending early in the game," said head coach Rebecca Tillett. "It is discouraging that is what happened down the stretch. I think we we get tight towards the end of the game because we have been in so many close ones and the most recent memories we have are not securing those wins. I take responsibility for that, and I have to help us play with confidence down the stretch."

The loss is sixth straight for Longwood in Big South Conference play as the Lancers fall to 6-11in the Big South. Longwood finds themselves in the last first-round hosting seed, eighth place in the conference standings with a one-game advantage over Presbyterian College.

Away from the ball, the leading Big South shot-blocker, Akila Smith continued her shot-blocking success with a game-high three blocks. Smith also made an impact on the boards, recording a team-best 10 rebounds in the loss. Longwood, as a team, was out-rebounded 53-42 by Winthrop with the greatest impact coming after halftime when the Eagles out-rebounded the Lancers by nine boards, six of which on the offensive glass.

For the 25th time this season, junior Tra'Dayja Smith led the Lancers offense in assists with a game-best six assists. Smith added to her six assists with eight points and five rebounds. Smith has 159 assists on the season and is three assists shy of breaking the Longwood single-season assists record of 161 assists set by Caren Forbes in 1986-87. 

The assists record is not the only record in danger of being broken. Freshman Kyla McMakin needs eight points to break the Longwood single-season scoring record by a freshman of 484 points set by Marita Meldere in 2000-01. 

Longwood will turn their attention to ending the six-game skid in conference play with the league games still on the docket Longwood. The Lancers travel to High Point University on February 29, before returning to Willett Hall on March 4 for the regular season contest on Jerome Kersey Court against the Spartans of USC Upstate. Longwood wraps up the regular season March 7 in Charleston, South Carolina, against Charleston Southern University. 

"For us to upset High Point on their home floor is going to take a confident and united effort down the stretch. That is something we will have to turn our focus to in practice as we prepare for Saturday's contest," finished Tillett. 

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