FARMVILLE, Va. – Everyone knew it was coming, but nobody could stop it anyway.

Tied at 52-52 with just eight seconds remaining, Longwood forward Akila Smith caught an inbounds from Kyla McMakin just inside the three-point line, covered 18 feet in six steps and a turn, and beat three defenders to drop in the game-winning layup and lift the surging Lancers to a 54-52 win over USC Upstate Tuesday evening in Willett Hall. 

The game-winning bucket was the latest highlight in a season full of them for Smith, who just 24 hours prior scored a career-high 29 points to power Longwood (5-6, 4-2 Big South) to a 79-70 win over USC Upstate (3-8, 1-5 Big South). Her follow-up Tuesday night also included 11 rebounds for her NCAA-leading seventh double-double, along with four blocks and three steals.

Smith, who also hit a go-ahead layup with 2:39 to play that sparked Longwood's game-winning 7-4 run down the stretch, now ranks atop the Big South leaderboard in rebounding, field goal percentage, blocks and offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, the Lancers sit just a half game behind first-place High Point (4-1) for the top spot in the league standings.

"Coach Tillett asked me if I had a shot left in me, I told her yes and we went from there," said Smith on the game winning play.

"Sometimes, especially with young teams, you have to remember they need experience [on final shots], so we put a lot of emphasis on it in practice," said head coach Rebecca TIllett. "And for Akila to do that, her first game-winner ever, and then go down on the other end and get the defensive rebound, you're so excited for your women when they do something for the first time, or they execute in a way to help you win. We had a tough night shooting, but you have to be able to win when you have a tough night shooting-- you have to depend on your defense, and I thought our second half defense was really good."

Now winners of four of their past six games and five straight at home, the Lancers' most recent victory came by way of three double-digit scorers and a stifling defensive effort against USC Upstate's efficient offense. The Spartans entered the game ranked among the Big South's top four in assists and field goal percentage but shot just 30.0 percent from the floor and committed 14 turnovers against the Lancers.

Behind Smith's four blocks, the Lancers outscored the Spartans 30-20 in the paint and limited the Spartans to just 18 made field goals, their fewest in a Big South game this season. That defense came through to the buzzer as well, as the Spartans' final shot from Jada Logan missed at the buzzer, securing Longwood its second two-game sweep of the Big South season. 

​Smith was an driving force in both games against USC Upstate, accumulating 39 points, 17 rebounds, seven blocks, seven steals and six assists in the two-game set. She has now scored in double figures in 10 of her 11 games this season is tied with Auburn's Unique Thompson for the national lead with seven double-doubles. 

Along with Smith's production, McMakin led Longwood with 16 points, and Anne-Hamilton LeRoy added 10 as three Lancers scored in double figures. As a team, Longwood scored 30 points in the paint for the second consecutive game.

 The Spartans were led by Denijsha Wilson, who tallied 12 points, four assists and five rebounds. Marchicha Prudent added 11 points, and Maya Timberlake scored 10.

However, the Upstate offense shot just .300 (18-60) from the field, unable to solve a stifling Longwood defense that blocked five shots, swiped six steals and forced 14 turnovers.

Tight defense kept the game close the entire night, as the game featured eight lead changes and eight ties with neither side leading by greater than five points the entire way. However, Longwood's offense found its footing in the final quarter, hitting 8-of-16 shots in the frame to outscore the Spartans 17-11.

Leading the late charge was redshirt freshman Adriana Shipp, who hit 3-of-4 shots for six points in the final ten minutes to help secure the Lancer win. After Upstate took its biggest lead of the game 46-41 with 5:31 remaining, Shipp's jumper sparked a 13-6 run to close the game. Longwood hit six of their final nine shots, rallying to take the lead on a Tra'Dayja Smith layup with 3:39 to play.

Wilson responded for the Spartans, draining two big free throws to regain the lead, 49-50. Smith drove to the rack and converted a layup to regain the Lancer lead, but Prudent responded for Upstate with a layup to point Upstate ahead, 50-49.

McMakin came up huge for the Lancers on the next possession—the reigning Big South Player of the Year corralled a LeRoy three-point miss, tipping it up and in to surge Longwood in front, 51-50. After a stop and a McMakin free throw, Logan's layup in the paint evened the scored at 52-52 with eight seconds to play, setting up Smith's late heroics.
 

Receiving the inbound in the corner, Smith turned and got into the paint, slashing through the USC Upstate defense and finishing at the rim to take a 54-52 lead. Logan's baseline jumper missed the mark, Tray'Dayja Smith redirected the rebound to Akila Smith who secured it as the Lancer defense came through one final time to ice the game.

"Coach Tillett tells us all of our starting five are capable of 20+ points," added Akila Smith. "If we don't care who scores that 20 points, we will be okay."

Up next for the Lancers is a trip to Buies Creek, N.C. to open their series with Campbell on Saturday, Jan. 9. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with tipoff set for 2 p.m.

#GoWood ​