It wasn't how Longwood (9-21, 8-10 Big South) hoped its season would end. But it was hard to look back on the journey and not see progress and momentum as the program heads into the new Joan Perry Brock Center next year.

"I'm proud of how our team adapted," Lang-Montgomery said. "They had so much to learn this year, with a new coaching staff, new teammates. It was a growth process. I'm really proud of how they stuck and fought. That's something about these team. Even when they were down they weren't down."

After a 1-12 start to the season, a sixth-place regular season finish once conference play got underway would have seemed like a longshot. But with veteran leaders LeRoy and Adriana Shipp-Davis guiding a crop of newcomers as they together learned Lang-Montgomery's style and system, Longwood improved over the course of the Big South schedule in January and February, won three of its last four regular-season contests, and earned a sixth-place regular finish that placed the Lancers out of the first round and directly into the quarterfinals.

"I thought we really got better as the season went on," Lang-Montgomery said. "We had a really tough non-conference. Once we got into conference play we settled down and really found our identity through our pressure defense. That became a staple of who we were."

It was a season that saw inconsistency – but also more than its share of memorable moments. Longwood rallied from 21 points down – and 18 with six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter -- to beat Presbyterian in Willett Gym on January 21^st. A few weeks later at rival Radford, the Lancers scored six points in the final six seconds to beat their in-state rivals 65-63. And on the final day of the regular season, they pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat UNC-Asheville and secure a spot in the quarterfinals.

Longwood also tied for the league lead in made free throws and forced turnovers – promising indicators of poise and defensive tenacity that will carry them into next season. Longwood forced 24 turnovers Thursday night against the Camels.

"I'm glad we were able to disrupt them defensively, especially in that third quarter," Lang-Montgomery said.

Alas, Thursday night in Charlotte, there were no miracle comebacks -- the Camels' offense was just too much. Bailey Williams's driving layup cut the Lancers' deficit to 19-17 early in the second quarter, but they never got closer. Campbell answered with a wave of 3-pointers, extending the lead to 30-19 at 5:05 before halftime, forcing a Longwood timeout.

The Camels didn't stay as hot in the second half, but they kept Longwood out of sync at both ends of the court, and smothered a handful of Longwood mini-runs, never allowing the Lancers to get closer than 15.

Shipp-Davis added 9 points, and Williams had 6 points and 4 rebounds for the Lancers, who played hard through the end, even when the shots weren't falling.

Lang-Montgomery said Longwood will have to improve in areas like rebounding – but the future is bright.

"We really have some really amazing players returning, all-conference players, Anne LeRoy, Adriana Shipp-Davis," Lang-Montgomery said. "I'm excited they'll be coming back."

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