FARMVILLE, Va. — The Longwood women's basketball team had five players score double figures and never trailed on its way to a 90-62 win over UNC Pembroke at the Joan Perry Brock Center on Sunday.
Graduate student Malea Brown led all players with 18 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while reigning Big South Freshman of the Week Jesstynie Scott tallied 17. Junior Otaifo Esenabhalu added 15 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and the 13th of her career as the Lancers improved to 7-4 on the season.
Amor Harris and Jaci Bolden rounded out Longwood's quintet in double digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lancers shot 50 percent in the first half, going 18-for-36 from the floor, cruising to a 48-28 lead at the break, extending it to a 75-51 after three quarters.
"I thought after a slow start we kind of got into a groove," Longwood head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery said. "I like that we had five people in double digits. We were sharing the ball. I thought we took care of it fairly well today. It was kind of a snow-day feel and so I thought we were able to muster up just enough energy to get the job done today."
Ten of the 11 players to see the court for Longwood scored as the Lancers held advantages in points in the paint (48-30) and points off turnovers (32-8) while also registering 48 bench points. The Lancers forced 27 UNC Pembroke turnovers, grabbed 19 steals and had 17 assists on 34 made baskets.
"It definitely helps us to know that you've got some different weapons on the bench that can come in and give you a lift, a boost, whether it be on the offensive or defensive end," Lang-Montgomery said.
The coach admitted there are aspects of the game that need fine tuning as the holiday break approaches. "Let me go down my Santa list of what I want for Christmas," she said. "We definitely still have to keep working on the boards. You know, give a lot of credit to Pembroke. That team was gritty and worked and they outrebounded us, so that's one area that we want to improve on. The low-scoring fourth quarters, we want to be better efficient there. Continuing to work on our press. I thought we were disruptive today, but it still just kind of had that feel that we just could have done more, and so just wanting to stay consistent with our pressure and, being disruptive, not just in the full court, but the half court, as well.
Longwood is back at it next Sunday at Elon. Game time from the Schar Center is set for 1 p.m., and will be streamed on FloCollege.
