HIGH POINT, N.C. – Akila Smith poured in 32 points for Longwood women's basketball, but Big South-leading High Point countered with an attack that saw 10 players score while four hit double digits on senior night to down Longwood 84-62.
 
On a night where Longwood's defense held High Point's leading scorer Skyler Curran to single digits—only the second time she's been held to less than 10 all year—Jenson Edwards spearheaded the balanced attack. She totaled 13 points while tying a career best with nine assists. Senior Chyne McMichel added 10 points in her first start since December.
 
The High Point (19-5, 17-2 Big South) bench mob also answered the charge, pouring in 40 points. Sophomore Callie Scheier hit four three's, with three coming during a hot second quarter that broke what had been a defensive struggle in the first 10 minutes. Freshman guard Claire Wyatt added 12 of her own to beat a Lancer team that had been on a tear, having won nine of its previous 12 games since the calendar turned to 2021.
 
"I think we played well for one quarter when, in that quarter, we were able to get stops," said head coach Rebecca Tillett, whose team has already set a program record for conference wins. "Offensively, we just could not hit layups. I think sometimes when your rhythm is off, it can wear on you. I obviously thought High Point executed from the beginning to the end of the game. And to compete with the number one, you have to counter and do the same thing. I know our women will stay together and find a way to come out fighting tomorrow, but that was tough for us."
 
For Longwood (12-10, 11-6 Big South), Smith battled through foul trouble that limited her to two points in the first half, but she was unstoppable after halftime. The junior roared out of the gate in the second half and scored 30 of Longwood's 37 points in the final 20 minutes. The Florida native nailed a career best 10 of 12 free throws and added 11 rebounds—her team-leading 13^th double-double this season.
 
"Part of leading teams is figuring out what makes each woman elevate her game," Tillett said. "Akila really does respond to the truth. I think great players do that. At halftime we were pretty specific about what she was not doing well and what we thought she could do in this game. And gosh, she just responded in every way. We didn't want her to foul again, and she didn't pick up her fourth foul until really, really late in the fourth. We thought she could score inside."
 
After a tight first quarter that saw the defenses limit the top two scoring attacks in the Big South to a combined 22 points, High Point got hot. The Panthers blitzed Longwood to the tune of 28 points on .714 shooting (10-14). Scheier went a perfect 3-3 from three in the quarter to help High Point take a 17-point halftime lead.
 
Anne-Hamilton LeRoy was aggressive to answer for the Lancers, earning 11 trips to the free throw line. She scored all 14 of her points in the opening 20 minutes, but the High Point defense made life difficult for the rest of the dangerous Lancer attack, holding the rest of the Lancers to 11 points through the first two quarters.
 
"I thought Anne had a really good first half," said Tillett. "At halftime, we really felt like Dayday [Tra'Dayja Smith] and Anne were really locked in to what we were trying to do and staying really steady, even though things weren't going our way on either side of the ball in the second quarter."
 
Akila Smith started rolling in the third quarter and scored six straight points on a personal 6-0 run that trimmed the High Point lead to 11. Tra'Dayja Smith had a pair of assists in that stretch and had a team-best seven assists on the night, with five going to Akila Smith.
 
This is the great thing about an unselfish team, is that it's not the coaches saying to call every play for Akila," Tillett said. "It's her teammates. And that's what makes this group special."
 
High Point stabilized things after a timeout though and fended off the feisty Lancers. Longwood couldn't get over the hump and cut the lead to single digits before the Panthers began to pull away to end the quarter.
 
The two teams play again on Friday night at the Millis Center as Longwood aims to bounce back in the season finale for both sides, with the Lancers still battling for their final spot in the Big South standings.
 
"That's the critical thing with these back-to-backs," Tillett said about her team having to rebound quickly. "You've seen, and we've been on either side of them, where one team wins one night—and even wins big—and then the next night the players have a different mindset or there's a little bit different strategy. So obviously we'll all be working hard today in preparation for tomorrow. We certainly want to build some momentum and get ready for the playoffs, especially with the Hampton series being canceled."
 
The tip is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
#GoWood