CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Longwood women's basketball team carried a six-point lead into the fourth quarter Monday, but Charlotte erupted for 29 points in the final period to rally past the Lancers 86-72 at Halton Arena.
The Lancers (2-1) led 65-59 entering the fourth quarter after building their advantage behind a strong third-period performance. However, Charlotte (1-2) shot 66.7 percent in the final 10 minutes while holding Longwood to just 2-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Longwood appeared in control midway through the third quarter, extending its lead to 18 points at 54-36 with 2:58 remaining. The Lancers used a balanced offensive attack and timely perimeter shooting to build the advantage, with McKayla Hosley and Nal'La Bennett providing a significant spark.
Hosley finished with a team-high 18 points, adding three assists, three steals and three rebounds. Bennett scored 14 points, knocking down four 3-pointers while shooting 4-for-5 from the field. Shakira Gresham added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, while contributing four assists and two steals.
Charlotte began chipping away late in the third quarter, after trailing by as many as 18. The 49ers carried that momentum into the fourth, where Alana Rouser and Mariah Sain helped fuel the comeback.
Charlotte opened the final period with a 13-4 run to cut Longwood's advantage to 68-67 with 8:08 remaining. Idaysia Mercer briefly stemmed the momentum with a 3-pointer at the 8:58 mark, but the Lancers struggled to regain their offensive rhythm.
"You saw a really good basketball team for three quarters and then we showed the exact opposite in the fourth quarter," Longwood head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery said. "But that's just the youthfulness and the inexperience of our team. We're learning how to win a basketball game. So we've learned how to get a lead and now we got to learn how to close out a game."
After Mercer's free throw tied the game at 69 with 6:37 remaining, Charlotte took its first lead since the second quarter when Rouser scored on a layup with 5:44 left.
The 49ers never relinquished the advantage, closing the game on a decisive stretch that turned a two-point lead into a comfortable victory.
Rouser led Charlotte with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, adding seven rebounds. Sain contributed 14 points, while Isis Johnson-Musah scored 13.
"We did some really good things for three quarters," Lang-Montgomery said. "And now it's time to learn from it. Like there's a lot of great teaching moments and there's a lot of things that we can show on film, defensively where we had breakdowns in that fourth quarter.
"[But] I thought our rotations were great. We took three charges in the first half. thought we got out to their shooters. I thought we did a good job against their press."
Longwood shot 43.6 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range but was hampered by 26 turnovers. Charlotte converted those miscues into 21 points and held a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint.
The Lancers return to the road Thursday, traveling to Philadelphia to take on Penn at the Palestra. Tip is slated for 6 p.m., on ESPN+.
