December 18, 2009

Box Score

HIGH POINT, N.C. - The Longwood University women's basketball team picked up its first road win of the season over High Point University 76-68 on Friday evening in High Point, North Carolina. Five Longwood (4-8) players scored in double-digits, led by freshman Chelsea Coward/Mechanicsville (Hanover) with her first-career double-double, recording 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Classmate Crystal Smith/Richmond (Meadowbrook) added a team-high 16 points. High Point (4-6) was led by Shamia Brown with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Lancers return to action on Monday, December 21, when they travel to Harrisonburg to take on 24th-ranked James Madison University at 7 p.m..

The game was close throughout, with the score tied four times and five lead changes in the first half. The Panthers jumped out to a 7-3 lead after a Brown layup with 17:07 remaining in the first half. Crystal Smith made a layup to tie the score at 12-12 with 10:40 remaining. Longwood would not trail the rest of the half, pulling ahead by as many as six points on a jumper by Coward with 3:19 remaining. High Point fought back to tie the score at 29-29 at halftime. Crystal Smith scored nine points in the first half while Coward added eight.

The second half saw the score tied seven times with four lead changes. Sophomore Morgan Smith/Williamsport, Md. (Williamsport) started the second half with a layup. Freshman Heather Tobeck/La Porte, Texas (La Porte) scored the next six points for Longwood and junior Krystal Garrison/Fredericksburg (Courtland) made her first field goal of the night, a three-pointer, to give Longwood the 42-37 lead with 15:35 remaining. The Panthers pulled out to a 55-51 lead with 8:01 remaining in the game. A Coward layup with 3:53 remaining gave Longwood the lead for good. Crystal Smith made a three-pointer and sophomore Brittanni Billups/Goldsboro, N.C. (Eastern Wayne) made a pair of baskets and a free throw to push the Lancers' lead to 71-63 with 1:19 remaining. The Lancers would go on to win 76-68. Longwood shot 62.1% (18-29) from the floor in the second half, including 50.0% (3-6) from behind the arc. The inside game was working for Longwood in the second half as Tobeck and Billups combined for 19 points in the second half on 8-10 shooting from the field.

Billups finished with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting with five rebounds and three blocks. Tobeck added 15 points and two blocks and Garrison scored 10 points with six rebounds. Longwood scored 44 points in the paint and outrebounded HPU 47-42. The Lancers shot 48.3% (29-60) from the field and 71.4% (15-21) from the foul line.

Frances Fields scored 14 points with six rebounds and six assists and Mackenzie Maier added 12 points and two blocks. The Panthers shot 32.9% (25-76) from the floor, including 40.0% (6-15) from three. HPU converted on 66.7% (12-18) of its foul shots.