February 21, 2005

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women’s basketball team extended its home-winning streak to seven games with a 69-59 victory over visiting Norfolk State University Monday evening. The Lancers, who have won four-straight games and are now 14-12 on the season, were led by junior forward Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and senior forward/center Catherine Dunn/Aberdeen, N.J. (St. John Vianney). Ashley Mason finished with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds; both game highs, while Dunn chipped in a career-high 19 points and added nine rebounds, three steals and two assists. Stefani Williams led the Spartans with her 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists. LU will be back in action when they face off against Jacksonville State Thursday, February 24 in Alabama. Game time is slated for 8:00 p.m.

Longwood controlled the first half, building a quick 10-point lead at 16-6 with 13:08 left in the half. The strong start was highlighted by three-pointers by both Ashley Mason and sophomore guard Abigail Freese/West Liberty, Ohio (West Liberty-Salem). Norfolk State cut the Lancers lead to 16-10 on a jumper by Shalynn Leonard, but a 12-2 run by Longwood opened the game up at 28-12. Longwood continued to extend the lead, pushing it to 19 after Freese connected on her second three-pointer of the night at the 1:07 mark. A jumper by NSU’s Yomika Corbitt with 15 seconds left in the first stanza cut LU’s halftime lead to 39-23.

The Spartans started to chip away at the Lancers lead, slashing it to 10, 43-33, on a jumper by Leonard at the 15:39 mark of the second half. Ashley Mason hit one free throw and connected on a jumper, while Freese drained a three-pointer to give Longwood the 49-33 edge. Norfolk State would not go away, as they went on a 21-5 run to tie the game at 54-54 with 5:59 remaining in the contest. NSU hit five three-pointers in its comeback effort, including three by Williams. LU scored eight-straight points, including four from Ashley Mason, to give the Lancers breathing room with a eight-point lead. Norfolk State could not get any closer as Longwood earned the 10-point victory.

Besides Ashley Mason and Dunn, the Lancers had two other players finish with double-digit points. Senior forward/center Marita Meldere/Rujiena, Latvia (Lynchburg Christian) scored 11 points, and added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Freese finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists. Longwood shot 40.7% (24-59) from the field, including 35.7% (5-14) on three-pointers, and was 72.7% (16-22) from the charity stripe.

Also leading the way for the Spartans was Shenae Johnson who scored 10 points, grabbed two rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals. Norfolk State shot 31.9 (22-69) from the field, including 44.4% (8-18) from behind the three-point arc, and hit 87.5% (7-8) of its free throws.