SPARTANBURG, S.C. – It came down to one stop. The battle between the top of the Big South in Longwood and USC Upstate lived up to its billing, coming down to the final play, with less than a minute on the clock.
 
That one stop came off the hand of Brooke Anya with the game changing steal in the Spartans second to last possession, that set the Lancers up to walk away victorious.  A final "Hail Mary" from three off the hand of Terah Harness was the home team's last hope. With no luck, and a foul under the basket, it was Tra'Dayja Smith who sunk the final two free throws, sealing the deal. 

"I think in that moment, I prepared myself with a total defensive mind, and being able to get that steal and secure it for my team, it felt great. I immediately thought, 'don't go in and get the layup, just make sure you get the ball to DayDay,'" said Brooke Anya on her game winning steal. "We've been working so hard since the summer to put ourselves in this position, and me grabbing that steal, to help us get one step closer to our goal, it felt amazing."

"Brooke understands the game at a really high level, and she is such a force defensively for us," said Head Coach Rebecca Tillett. "That was a massive steal that she made, and I think so many women made plays tonight and that's exactly what we want as a team."

Longwood's (17-11, 14-3 Big South) whole team contributed evenly to the victory with four scoring in double-digits and six players in the scoring column. The Lancer defense forced a tough USC Upstate (21-7, 13-4 Big South) side to shoot .366 percent from the field and .250 from three, and it was a fourth quarter push by Longwood that outscored the Spartans 24-18 to win the game.

"As a coach you never know what's going to happen, no matter how much you prepare for certain situations," said Coach Tillett. "I think our women just came out on top in the toughness battle tonight. What a great college game from both sides, full of fans, with plays being answered each time down the court. Tonight, it just happened to be us that made the last few of the game."
 
Longwood's win on Wednesday served USC Upstate the team's second loss on their home court all season. 
 
Stuck on 64 points, the Spartans went scoreless for almost two minutes allowing the Lancers to close the gap in the final minutes of the game. Tra'Dayja Smith went 6-6 from the free throw line, and 4-4 from behind the arch in the second half, grabbing all her points when it mattered most in the final 20.
 
The second half climb came from within for Longwood, with Anya providing fire off the bench beyond the final steal. Anya finished with a career best 10 points and six rebounds, shooting 4-6 from the field.
 
Akila Smith defended her Defensive Player of the Year status, putting up seven blocks. Smith was 5-11 from the field, and finished with 13, adding eight rebounds to that Wednesday night slate.

"Our captains, really stepped up tonight," said Coach Tillett. "We put so much responsibility on them, but they have really rose to the occasion especially during the tough, middle part of the season. To see them lead, from when we were down seven all the way to when we were up by 11, those three make the plays that don't show up in the stat sheets."
 
First half basketball was a battle by both sides of the court. The Spartans had the upper hand and were led by red-shirt sophomore guard Chellia Watson. She scored 12 in the first two quarters before the Longwood defense held Watson to only four in the second half.
 
Watson finished with 16 points, five assists, and five fouls – finding herself, alongside teammate Molly Coleman on the bench for the final minutes of the game due to fouling out. Jada Logan continued her season trend of owning the boards. Logan finished with 17 rebounds, eight points, and one block. Rachel Rose rounded out the offense for Upstate, finishing with 20 points, going 7-9 from the field, 2-3 from behind the arch, and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Rose earned a double-double grabbing 11 rebounds on top of her points, just shy from a trip-double, adding six assists to her stat sheet. 
 
Quarter two was owned by Upstate. The home team defended the court in front of their fans opening the quarter on a 7-0 run. TheSpartans outscored the Lancers 22-12 in the second ten leaving the score at halftime 31-24. Yet the Lancers never quit.

"I think a lot of teams forget, you can still be getting better right now, and if your team believes that, and they keep working to be better then you'll see positive outcomes," said Coach Tillett. "As far as individuals who collectively added to the win, DayDay's second half was definitely one. It wasn't just the points, but the leadership on the court when her teammates need it most really stepped up."
 
Tra'Dayja Smith came out smoking hot in the third quarter. Back-to-back three pointers – one from way beyond the arc – put Longwood back on top and in a rhythm. Following the second three off the hand of Smith, Longwood went on a 12-4 run tying the game at 44 all. The two sides traded buckets for the remaining stretch of the third.

"Kyla got on me, telling me I needed to focus up at halftime," said Tra'Dayja Smith. "If my teammate needs something from me, and in order to be the number one team, you have to do what you need to do. It feels great having teammate's that'll get on me when they need to, and the team should know the captains can get it, too, and it's something I needed in that moment."
 
The fourth and final quarter found Longwood down one. Over the first 3:28 Longwood opened with an 11-5 run over the Spartans to take a five point lead. The two sides traded the lead back and forth twice more before Longwood went up for good at 62-60.

"We worked so hard for this, so obviously we went crazy," said Anya. "This just means we're all one step closer."
 
With the clock dwindling in the fourth quarter, Kyla McMakin hit a jumper with :24 left in the game to put the Lancers up three, 67-64. McMakin finished with 19. 

"We need to stay level-headed. We shouldn't go and feel too great after beating Upstate, because we also want to beat Hampton too so we have some momentum going into the tournament," said Smith. "We may see them again so we just have to stay level-headed and keep our eye on the end goal."

"If you stay the course, if you stay present in each game, if you keep trying to build within the game, and your leaders are strong; good things are going to happen," said Coach Tillett.
 
Longwood is now tied for first in the Big South with Campbell. It all comes down to Saturday when Campbell faces High Point, and Longwood takes on Hampton for the second time in a week. Saturday Feb. 26 is also the Lancers Senior Day, at 3 p.m. Come pack the hall for Tra'Dayja Smith, Akila Smith and Milou Vennema. 
 
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