CLINTON, S.C. – Suffocating defense has been the name of the game for Longwood women's basketball under head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery.
 
That defense traveled and took care of business in the regular season finale on the road at Presbyterian on Saturday afternoon in an 89-57 win.
 
Longwood forced 36 turnovers and turned it into 36 points as 11 players scored with four in double figures. Malea Brown tallied a team-best 19 points and added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
 
"Staying true to our identity defensively in addition to execution and taking care of the ball were the keys today," said Longwood Head Coach Erika Lang-Montgomery. "That was important with us not having Jasmine [Peaks] on the floor today, as well as having a presence on the boards."
 
Amor Harris added 13 points, Lili Booker went 7-10 at the foul line to score 11, and Jesstynie Scott added 10 points with six rebounds and six steals.
 
Add it all up, and the Lancers (20-9, 11-5 Big South) have won 20 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in decades, hearkening back to the Shirley Duncan era of Lancer basketball. The last time the Lancers won 20 games in back-to-back seasons was the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, when the team went 41-16 in two seasons under the Lancer legend.
 
"Twenty wins is a true measurement of program growth," added Lang-Montgomery. "I'm really proud of our team and what we accomplished in the regular season. We closed conference play with two quality wins to give us momentum going into the tournament next week."
 
Against Presbyterian (3-26, 1-15 Big South), a second-quarter surge keyed Longwood past the Blue Hose.
 
After a tight first quarter, Booker keyed Longwood's ferocious defense in the second by grabbing two steals and scoring six points.
 
"Lili gave us good minutes off the bench and ignited us in the second quarter," Lang-Montgomery added.
 
Seven other Lancers also scored, and Longwood suffocated Presbyterian by holding the Blue Hose to three made shots. Longwood used a 7-0 run to create separation and take a double-digit lead on JaMya Robinson's layup with 4:41 to go in the half.
 
Harris drained a triple with 2:25 to go in the half as the lead grew to 15, and the Lancers never looked back.
 
Longwood extended the lead to 27 in the third quarter to put the game to rest and finish third in the Big South.
 
The Lancers will open the Big South Tournament on Thursday night as the third seed in the Big South Tournament, presented by Air Force Reserve. The Lancers take on UNC Asheville at 8:30 p.m.
 
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