FARMVILLE, Va. — The Longwood women's basketball team engineered a 21-5 run over seven minutes spanning the first and second quarters and defeated visiting George Washington, 71-62, at the Joan Perry Brock Center on Monday.
The Lancers (4-1) endured a 1-for-10 stretch in the first quarter, but found their rhythm for a 27-point second period to lead by 22, 44-22, at the half against the Atlantic 10 opponent, shooting nearly 53 percent from the floor in the stanza.
Longwood led by as many as 23 at the six-minute mark in the third, however, George Washington (1-3) cut the deficit to 63-56 with 3:39 remaining, by virtue of a 40-27 scoring advantage after halftime.
Longwood, though, was strong from the stripe down the stretch sinking eight of its 10 foul shots to salt away the victory while also clearing several key rebounds late to remain a perfect 4-0 at home this season.
"I really liked our offensive execution in that second quarter," Longwood head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery said. "We got off to a slow start offensively in the first, and we settled in and we were able to make shots and then put some stop, scores together to give us a lead.
"But I was just really proud of our team for staying with it. We allowed George Washington to shoot their way back into the game, but we got some big stops when it counted and some big rebounds off the free-throw line."
Graduate student guard Malea Brown led all players with 14 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to conclude the first quarter as well as a jumper as time wound down in the first half. She added eight rebounds and four steals on the night.
"Malea continues to be a stat stuffer for us," Lang-Montgomery said. "She does so much. I really don't like taking her off the floor, but that shot at the end of the first quarter was huge. Gave us some momentum going into the second. But she just makes plays happen.
Senior guard Jasmine Peaks tallied 12 points and a game-best seven assists while junior forward Otaifo Esenabhalu contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and the 10th of her career.
Longwood finished 20-for-26 on free throws, got 27 points from 25 George Washington turnovers and came up with 16 steals.
The Revolutionaries received 13 points and 10 of their 43 rebounds from Emma Theodorsson. Colleen Phiri (11 points) and Kamari Sims (10) also scored double digits.
Next up, the Lancers head to Charlottesville to take on Virginia Thursday at 6 p.m., on the ACC Network.
