Women's Basketball Falls to UNC Wilmington 64-58 In First Round Of Hilton Wilmington Riverside Classic

Junior Forward Amber Mason Scores Team-High 12 Points in Setback

For Immediate Release
November 26, 2004

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Longwood University dropped a 64-58 women’s basketball decision to UNC Wilmington at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside Classic Friday evening. The Lancers, who fell to 2-2 on the season, will play either St. John’s or Norfolk State in the consolation game tomorrow, November 27. Game time is slated for 5:00 p.m.

Longwood came out of the gates strong, taking a 12-6 lead at the 13:28 mark of the first stanza. With the game knotted at 6-6, Longwood rattled off six straight points: two free throws by junior guard Jessica Wilkerson/Roanoke (Northfield), and jumpers by junior forward Amber Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and senior forward Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian). The Seahawks (2-1) cut the lead to two, but two straight three-pointers by Wilkerson gave the Lancers an 18-10 cushion.

UNC Wilmington scored the next 15 out of 18 points to pull ahead of Longwood 25-21 with 4:22 remaining before intermission, but freshman guard Keiva Small/Norfolk (Norview) hit two jumpers and senior forward Catherine Dunn/Aberdeen, N.J. (St. John Vianney) added another bucket to put the Lancers back on top, 27-26. The Seahawks ended the first half with a 6-2 run to hold a slight 33-29 lead.

Longwood started the second half with a 10-3 run to regain the lead at 39-36 with less than 16 minutes to play in the game. Lori Drake, Tanika Harrison and Meg Withrow all scored to give UNC Wilmington back the lead for good. The Lancers would tie the game at 42-42 at the 10:27 mark, but weren’t able to regain the lead as the Seahawks pulled out the victory.

The Lancers had four players finish with double-digit points. Amber Mason scored a team-high 12 points, and added six rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Meldere, Wilkerson and junior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) all chipped in 10. Meldere also grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds to finish with her third-straight double-double. Longwood shot 34.4% (22-64) from the floor, including 23.5% (4-17) from behind the three-point arc, and 58.8% (10-17) at the charity stripe.

The Seahawks were led by Withrow, who scored a game-high 21 points, added six rebounds, three assists, one block and five steals. UNC Wilmington shot 43.9% (25-57) from the floor, including 37.5% (3-8) from the three-point arc and was 57.9% (11-19) from the line.

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